when the line was out the door
The events of the day...
We both filled out raffle tickets in the hopes of winning a prize as well as the last "Platinum" ticket which includes winning a "year of chocolate". OMG, yes.
They had a larger retail area than the previous store. A bigger shelf for their merchandise which included cocoa, caramels, and candy bars, both sold invidually in large or mini sizes as well as sampler packs. The pack I was holding (which I didn't get) was $30. It looked good though!
The crowd scene near the door...You can see their brand new bar area.
Near the retail area, you can also look through the circular Hobbit window and watch as workers (and in this case, guests) doing the "Build-a-Bar" workshop. The other circular windows you see share a wall with the private dining room in the back.
Their menu board. Unfortunately, they weren't selling any hot food or alcohol yesterday. It was kind of cruel reading everything we wanted to try but couldn't. Only beverages and pre-made sweets were available. There was also a sign for craft beer floats. I think San Diego is three years behind with this trend. We've been making our own since trying it in Portland in Spring 2009 (from Pix Patisserie).
Some of their pre-made items...Their brownie bars and cupcakes. I wasn't too thrilled with their cupcakes the last time we went a few months ago. It seems to have too much ganache injected within and very litle cupcake.
This was Bert's splurge for the day. The caramels all had different types of salted toppings, one of which was the purplish tinged merlot sea salt. A few had lavender, which I loathe, so I won't be eating that piece. These are all still in the box and we will probably sample it in a few days or so.
There were servers galore (wearing the coolest set of suspenders I'd ever seen - they clip on the front only and connect at the back). After a quick search online, I found out they are called side clip suspenders and are popular with truckers because they can wear a belt and not have the back clips get in the way. The suspenders are part of their uniform and are a light tan color. They kind of look like this (the guy on the link looks like he could be Crocodile Dundee's brother). This sample was some sort of garlic parmesan crouton crisp which was tasty...
I don't remember what this was but it was some sort of glazed sweet bread.
Behind the counter was their truffle drawer...
Another sample was the Blueberry Stuffed French Bread. TC liked this more than I did. I kind of wanted to save my appetite for lunch and held off on the sweets (miraculously enough).
They had two kinds of these meringue discs - this was the peanut butter; the other one had cocoa nibs with that horrible lavender.
TC's Blueberry Tea...
and Bert's Sea Salt Caramel Coffee. This was way better than the iced version we had at 85C. Bert always wanted that to be a hot drink and now his wish came true here. Loved the froth and the flavor throughout. It was a very smooth drink.
There was no place to sit and we ended up standing at the empty space at the end of the bar. Later on, room opened up at a side table.
This back area actually has tables but they were removed for the grand opening event so more people could mill around. Next to the wall is a hallway which leads to a private room (with the peepholes to the chocolate making kitchen), and another small room where they had a photo booth set up comlete with props and fake moustaches!
Another sample we tried, the Carrot Ginger Soup, garnished with a cream, a glazed crouton and a sprig of thyme.
There was a bit of a curry flavor to this. TC also liked this more than I did and I ended up giving my soup to her. It was good but I just wasn't in the mood to be drinking soup from a shot glass.
A few bites of that meringue was all I could handle...Next time we go here, I'm ordering that same coffee!
The view from our table...Station Tavern across the street.
The (temporarily) empty bar. Seconds after I snapped this shot, the seats were snatched up.
Their lamps reminded me of origami. ...
Every half hour, "Mike Teavee" announced names for their raffle. Even if a person wasn't there when his/her name was called, the name would be written on a poster and that person could still come back to claim the prize. Points to this guy for being in the spirit of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" by dressing up as the tv-crazed boy from the 1971 film version!
This was the back room which was quite nice. It can also be rented out for private events.
At this point, we decided to do the "Build-a-Bear" workshop, in which you get to play mad scientist/chocolatier and create your own chocolate bar for a $10 fee...that will be the next post!
2 comments:
What a fun event. I was unsure if it was open to the public or special ticket holders had reservations to go in. I agree about lavender or any desserts with flower scents in them. Kinda of too much for me.
hi darlene - totally fun! i wish more people dressed up like "willy wonka & the chocolate factory" characters though! only mike teavee and veruca salt seemed to be present.
lavender is not one of my favorite scents at all and i certainly don't prefer to eat anything flavored or scented with it.
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