The quandry: my girlfriend has been a big devotee of Godiva, but has grown disenchanted with their latest offerings. (She never forgave them for not repeating their rose and violet truffles of a few years ago.) So can anyone suggest a chocolatier on par with Godiva? One can find hundreds of chocolate vendors online, but I figure some informed recommendations from fellow Dopers will help whittle things down quickly.
Thanks!
I second amie’s recommendation of Joseph Schmidt–excellent chocolates, and a San Francisco institution.
I’ve had chocolate all over the damn place, but the best I’ve ever had is from a place down the block from the house I grew up in (it wasn’t there at the time, or I would have spent my childhood at big as a hippo).
http://evanstonillinois.net/piron.html
They make everything on the premises. I try not to even walk in there, because it’s too dangerous. I have no idea whether they ship, though. Beats the hell out of Godiva in any case.
I’m a big fan of Godiva, and Lindt is my very effective backup. And their truffles… what I would do for a Lindt truffle…
Ahem.
I can suggest a few…
1. Lake Champlain Chocolates…
This is a yearly thing, from Vermont. Very good.
2. Belgian Choclate Shop
The best in Toronto…
Plus…
Chocolats Privilege. These are Montreal’s, if not Canada’s finest chocolate, though I’m not sure they have a website. Their address however is:
Chocolats Privilege Inc
1225 rue de Conde
Montreal, Quebec
H3K 2E4
Canada
The pricey Nirvana is always an option.
And one cannot forget the Neuhaus chocolatier either…
O! The choices…
If you can afford it, there’s always La Maison du Chocolat.
It’s pricey, but fabulous.
Domori is the best chocolate I’ve ever had.
If you want something that’s very good but more mainstream, try Fran’s.
This one is great: Ganong
From their site : Today, the love of chocolate and devotion to excellence leads David Ganong, a fourth generation chocolate maker, to preserve and perpetuate this rich heritage. The result is a joy. For at Ganong Chocolatier, you’ll discover many old-fashioned varieties, that haven’t been made in half a century, together with exquisite masterpieces of the confectioner’s art.
This stuff is still handmade… oh and the best part. It’s in Canadian dollars 
The best value in chocolate is Sees. And, since you’re in Riverside, you can get their products.
Not that there aren’t better chocolates- but none are the 3+ times in cost better than Sees. Sees is also a nut for freshness, and beat out Godiva for that reason.
I think I live just north of the Belgian Chocolate Shop. I remember my mother buying me chocolate mice there when I was little. I haven’t visited in years. Hmm.
Leonidas of Belgium is quite nice.
Hey! I was gonna say that!
Seriously, they make really good chocolates. It’s all hand-made, small batch stuff - definately worth every penny.
I recommend See’s too. In fact, I’m going to go order some right now.
Another vote for Joseph Schmidt as the greatest chocolates produced in America (far better than American Godiva, and in my oppinion better even the Belgian Godiva).
Has anyone had experience in directly importing chocolates from France or Belgium? I would fear thet the transportation would be likely to ruin the chocolates or else the cost of safe transportation would be astronomical.
Thanks for the great suggestions so far, and please keep them coming!
Vosges chocolates are my new found favorite. I carry them in my store. The traditional chocolates are wonderful, but their gourmet blends with wasabi or curry or chili pepper are amazing!
Seroogy’s is on par, price-wise, with Sees, and kicks the crap out of them quality-wise. It’s really too bad you can’t get their caramel apples outside of Green Bay, but they make all their chocolate from scratch, and it holds up well against every chocolate I’ve ever tasted. And I’m a rather fat man, who’s gone out of his way to sample every chocolate I’ve ever come across.
(So, while I can’t speak against a lot of the smaller regionals mentioned in the thread, I feel safe saying “their chocolate is better than Sees, Godiva, Ghiradelli, Lindt, etc”)
-lv
I have to second both Piron in Evanston and Vosges, which is based in Chicago. They’re both excellent.
We may have lost Fanny May, but we still rule in Candyland. 