Belgian Chocolate

Since it's Valentine's Day I will take a little bit of time to talk about chocolate. I recently discovered the joy of Belgian chocolate and thanks to a very informative gentleman at my local zuker waffle stand (doesn't every city have one of these?) I now feel that I have yet another item that I will have to be snobbish about. No more Hershey kisses for me -I've discovered the Belgian egg.

I'm not even sure if this is what it's proper name is, but it's shaped like a small birds egg so we'll go with it. I now firmly believe that all chocolate in egg form is delicious - for example, the Cadbury eggs and Kinder eggs. So these eggs I've been buying are actually quite special. First off they have one of the highest moisture contents of any chocolate. It's because of this that they are quickly perishable (within 2 weeks) and if you want to take them out of the shop you have to sign a waiver saying you will consume them within 48 hours. Of course, I was intrigued by anything you have to sign a waiver for. The other interesting fact about these eggs is that they are made in small batches and you can only get them every 16 months. The shop owner actually had to carry them back with him last time he was in Belgium. What really got me though was the fact that these were made for the King of Belgium. So does eating them put me one step closer to royalty? If they are good enought for the king then they are good enough for me. I'm starting to rethink Belgium. It's stuch a small country that does so many things well. I see a beer and chocolate trip in my future.

If you are in Chicago and want to get a zuker waffle and some chocolate then I stop by Baladoche (http://www.baladoche.com/).