Chocoholic in Southern California: The Chocolate Soldier

As you recall from the post a couple of days ago, I had a business trip to Dana Point, CA this week. You may also recall that one of the vendors in the break area was giving out chocolate. Turns out that it was from a nearby shop, The Chocolate Soldier, that had come up in my pre-trip research. The creations seemed innovative, so I talked a colleague from another company into taking a quick walk over to the Dana Point Harbor Shops to check the place out.

They have a cute little sign out front. And inside, they have an employee who won’t allow pictures. I was caught off-guard by that. The only other place that has ever done that to me is La Maison du Chocolat – which is a world-renowned shop as opposed to some dinky seaside chocolate maker with two storefronts. Though no photos were allowed, they can’t stop me from telling you what’s in there. There are a bunch of gummy candies. There is a respectable selection of E. Guittard bars. There are the largest peanut butter cups ever made. And there were truffles. I settled on a box of truffles and an E. Guittard bar made entirely with Venezuelan chocolate, my colleague got a box of truffles for his family, and I also picked up two truffles for the vendor who lamented that she was out of Bailey’s and Grand Marnier varieties.

In my truffle box, I got an orange truffle, a mango truffle, a pecan praline truffle, and a salted caramel.

These humungous truffles were $3 per piece. Forthcoming reviews will give insight on whether or not the price is justified. Even for a truffle the size of my fist, $3 should buy something pretty good.