PASSIONATE RATIONS

It’s good to have friends in many places. They can point you to things you might otherwise miss, should you dare to ask. How I overlooked L.A. Burdick Chocolates is still something of a mystery to me.

Nestled in quaint-and-tiny Walpole, NH, are three things you must check out: the Burdick chocolate shop, their associated café, and an attached gourmet store.

It was after our Vermont cheese tour that we—myself accompanied by spouse and spouse’s mom and sister—planned to stop [stay tuned for future postings about the cheesy portion of the day]. We were disappointed to learn they close at 6pm, or so said their voice message. Our GPS had us arriving there from the far reaches of Vermont no earlier than 6:20 despite my lead foot. We decided to take the detour anyway to check it out “for next time.” Lo and behold, to our delight, they were actually open until 8pm.

Delicate handmade artisanal chocolates decorated all of the shop’s surfaces, including their trademark favors—chocolate mice—adorable edible renderings of brown-or-white cuteness peering up from elegant boxes. It was a bit overwhelming, but we chose some small assortments of the many tempting offerings displayed in the glass case, the free samples of marzipan making us giddy.

I had hoped to savor each piece, one a day, until they were gone, but that didn’t happen. No. Caught up in the rich, velvety textures and flavors I had no choice but to surrender to eating (with some spousal assistance) almost the entire box in one sitting. True, it was a small box, but still….

Anyways, I’m writing to say mom will like them. So what if it’s a little late to order? She’ll forgive you when she tries ‘em. I guarantee it. If not, I owe you a chocolate mouse.

And, oh yeah, someday I hope to be writing about my meal at the restaurant and the adventures at their chocolate cooking school.

Thanks to E.G. for the fabulous find.