Chocolate is a perfect snack, although it's much more than that to chocoholics. It can be eaten in moderation and provides an energy boost because it contains both sugar and caffeine, although only one-10th the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee.
Many people find a staple chocolate they like best -- a particular brand of milk or dark -- and stick with it. But finding new chocolate experiences is a natural quest that can be pursued by trying different commercial products and experimenting with recipes for home baking.
St. Moritz Chocolatier in One Oxford Centre, Downtown, offers an uncommonly wide selection of chocolate products and other snacks.
The top of the line at St. Moritz is Neuhaus Chocolates, imported from Belgium. The company was founded as a "pharmaceutical chocolatier" in 1857 in Brussels by John Neuhaus, who had emigrated from Switzerland, and his brother-in-law, who was the pharmacist. Initial products included sweets to control coughs and liquorices for stomach ailments.
While recent medical research has shown benefits from eating dark chocolate, the pharmaceutical side of Neuhaus had disappeared by 1912 when Jean Neuhaus Jr. produced the first filled chocolates, which he called pralines. In 1914, Neuhaus Chocolates began selling ballotins, collections of differently flavored pralines kept separate in a gold-colored box.
St. Moritz sells two assortment boxes of Neuhaus products. The box of truffles, chocolates with a ganache filling, sells for $29.50. A larger assortment box of pralines sells for $54. The shop also sells single pieces of Neuhaus cornet dore, filled with crisp rice, for $2.25.
Virginia Baker, owner of St. Moritz since 2005, says, "We have loyal Neuhaus customers, but most of our customers buy less expensive products."
All but two of the dozens of kinds of filled chocolates sold separately at St. Moritz are domestic products. The only other imported product is Champignons, caramel and chocolate "mushrooms," made by the French chocolatier Michel Cluizel, $2 a piece.
The grand caramels and Irish coffee chocolates, $1.50 and $2.50 a piece, are made by Sweet Shop USA of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and the peanut butter cups and turtles, $2 each, come from Mark Avenue Chocolates of Dunmore, Lackawanna County.
St. Moritz makes its own chocolate-covered popcorn in the shop, $3.50 for 4.5 ounces, $5.50 for 9 ounces.
Of course, even chocoholics are rumored to take a break from their favorite flavor, and St. Moritz has other snacks for sale. The wing nuts, Buffalo-style spicy peanuts, are $6.50 for a 6-ounce container.
Danielle Anderson, one of two women who run the shop for the owner, says, "We are in an office building, so people tend to stop by at lunchtime." Thus, if you are making a shopping trip to Downtown, it makes sense to go to St. Moritz Chocolatier before or after lunch.
Additional Information:St. Moritz Chocolatier
Location: Second floor, One Oxford Centre, Downtown
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; closed Sundays.
Details: 412-261-4488
