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« January 2008 | Main | March 2008 »
How does the Muse amuse herself on a wet Saturday in February? By heading up to Napa to enjoy DEATH BY CHOCOLATE at Copia. Join me, won't you, as we taste our way through the chocolate offerings of over 50 chocolatiers, confectioners and pastry chefs. Tickets still available.
I am on a train pulling out of Victoria Station. There is a family of five seated across the aisle. Just as the train begins to move, the children spring from their seats and gather around their mother. She produces a clear plastic bag filled with wrapped hard candies. Each child is allowed one piece - to begin with, that is. For the next two hours I watch this family consume piece after piece after piece of candy. And they are clearly enjoying every sugar high moment of it. I am jealous. Why didn’t I pack sweets for the trip? Well, probably because I am an American. It is 1978 and all I can hear is my mother’s voice in the back of my head warning me of the dangers of eating candy outside the range of a toothbrush and sink and flouride. A piece of fruit, maybe. A hard butterscotch? Never. Reckless abandon like this would surely lead to a mouth full of cavities. Or worse, a toothless grin.
I return home and still can’t get the image of the happy, sweet-eating English Family out of my mind. They may have been consuming their own weight in empty calories, but they sure looked damn happy doing it. I know that I must get my own bag o’ sweets. But where? They must be imported. Brach’s simply won’t do. And then I remember Woolworth’s Drug Store at the corner of Market and Powell. At the cable car turn. (If you ever see a postcard of the cable car turn, circa 1940, you will recognize the building as the Owl Pharmacy. It is now a Gap.) In the 70's, this Woolworth’s was known for its amazing stock of imported hard candies. The candies were displayed in the clear plastic bags they were shipped in. The tops of the bags were carefully rolled down to reveal the candy inside. There were at least eight display islands, about 6 foot square, that the bags were displayed on, one nestled right next to the other. A cardboard sign on a wooden stick was stuck in the middle of each island displaying the flag of the country the candies on that particular table were from. England had at least four tables to itself. I was very impressed. Scotland and Ireland each had a table. The last two tables were for American candies. I took a paper bag and began filling it. One of these, two of those. My memory tells me that all of the candy was priced the same. No minimum.
Since Woolworth’s closed, it has been impossible to find a selection of sweets imported from the UK. Until last month, that is. Fiona’s Sweet Shoppe has magically appeared. Like a candy store out of a scene from Mary Poppins, Fiona has filled her cozy shop with floor to ceiling shelves stocked with clear glass jars filled to the brim with English, Irish and Scottish treats. Quarter pound minimum.
FIONA’S SWEET SHOPPE, Fiona Frie, Founder. “Bewitching Candy”, 214 Sutter St., SF, 94108. 415-671-9162, fiona@fionassweetshoppe.com
FOG CITY NEWS is a chocolate Carnegie Hall. If you are a player in the chocolate world you must play Fog City News when you visit San Francisco or you simply haven’t arrived. It is the one venue in the City that I can count on to run into any chocolate celebrities passing through town. Why is this so? It is all due to the hard work of proprietor Adam Smith. He has a discriminating palate. He knows the chocolatiers and confectioners. And they are pleased to make in store appearances to meet their fans. He also carries over 250 different kinds of premium, origin-specific chocolate bars imported from around the world. If you are seeking out an esoteric bar of chocolate that is proving difficult to locate there is a great chance that Fog City News will have it.
Their February In-Store Confectioners Appearance schedule is as follows:
Richard Donnelly of Donnelly Chocolates, Santa Cruz,
Friday, February 1, noon - 2 pm
Michael Recchiuti of Recchiuti Confections, San Francisco
Friday, February 8, noon - 2 pm
Lloyd Martin of Chocolate Visions, Scotts Valley
Monday, February 11, noon - 2 pm
This might be the year that you break away from the traditional red velvet heart-shaped box and dive into the fresh confections offered by these confectioners. Fog City News will receive their shipments just seven to ten days before Valentine’s Day, thereby insuring utmost freshness. Consider what a real chocolate truffle, made with fresh cream just days ago might taste like. Heaven.
