By Jordan Rummel
Special to Inside
With gourmet shops like Starbucks now commonplace in American society, one can only wonder why something to whet a gourmand's sweet tooth hasn't shown up in the Chicagoland area. Local chocolate lovers' prayers have now been answered, however, with the opening of ethel's chocolate lounges. Featuring a large selection of unique and delicious chocolates, fondue and drinks, ethel's is perfect for any chocolate connoisseur, or even those who are just curious about new tastes of chocolate.
On first approach, ethel's fits in with the candy-store motif perfectly. The building, formerly a house, has a brown color matching the chocolate they peddle. Upon entry, the pink and brown walls look as if they are edible. Keeping with the chocolate "lounge" theme, almost all of the chairs on ethel's three floors and patios are either overstuffed sofas or comfortable loveseats. This level of comfort was part of the goal to make ethel's truly approachable.
"We noticed that people like to have a higher level of quality in some of their products, like coffee, and we saw that there wasn't a place where people could enjoy really fabulous chocolate," said ethel's president John Haugh. Haugh is also in charge of the gourmet chocolate and retail division of Mars, Inc., the company that helped start ethel's. "We also wanted to give people a place to eat the chocolate comfortably once they have it, which led to the idea of a lounge where people can relax and enjoy their experience. We are launching two firsts — the first approachable gourmet chocolate for everyday and the first chocolate lounges."
Located at 819 W. Armitage Ave., the Lincoln Park ethel's is the second of a rapidly-growing chain of chocolate lounges. The first location is at 527 Davis St. in Evanston, while a new location has recently opened at the North Bridge shopping mall, located at 520 N. Michigan Ave. ethel's continues to expand into the suburbs as well, with locations in Naperville, Hinsdale, the Old Orchard shopping mall and 900 N. Michigan Ave. slated to open by the end of this summer.
While Mr. Haugh takes care of the business end of ethel's, the real genius behind its taste is Patrice Caillot, their chief chocolatier. Born in Beaune, France, Caillot was schooled in Dijon and went on to work as a pastry chef in restaurants in New York City and Las Vegas. Caillot was also voted one of the "Ten Best Pastry Chefs in America" by Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design magazines in both 2001 and 2002. In 2004, he and his team won the prestigious Inniskillin Icewine World Pastry Team Championship in Las Vegas. Caillot started to develop chocolates for ethel's in November of 2004, and now has come up with the brand's initial 48-chocolate line.
The current collection of ethel's chocolates now features five different easy-to-identify groups of chocolate: truffles, nuts and caramel, fruit, American Pop, and Cocktail. The truffle collection features unique flavors such as Pina Colada, Earl Grey Tea, and the delicious Pistachio. The nut and caramel group features both creamy and chewy caramel, as well as numerous nut crunches and toffees.
The fruit group, the most colorful and artistic of the five, includes mouth-watering flavors such as key lime, passion fruit, banana and raspberry. The American Pop group appeals to the child in all of us, with flavors such as cinna-swirl, circus peanut and peanut butter and jelly. On the other hand, the cocktail group will likely appeal to a more refined palate, with flavors accurately mirroring such popular drinks as the Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Margarita and Champagne. And more creations are on the way.
"As time goes on we will introduce new collections, especially around holidays like Valentine's Day," said Caillot. "We will be constantly introducing new creations based on the season."
Also available is ethel's chocolate fondue, a blend of milk and dark chocolate. Served with strawberries and bananas, the fondue also comes with three or five sides, depending on the size of fondue ordered. Extra sides include dried apricots, cookies, marshmallows and pound cake. Fondue runs $15 for a small serving and $25 for a large. ethel's also offers a number of hot and cold beverages to complement the chocolate, including hot cocoa, espresso, teas and sodas.
The chocolates are available in boxes featuring each of the five separate collections, as well as variety boxes ranging from four to 48 pieces. Prices for these boxes range from $6 to $42.
ethel's, 819 W. Armitage Ave., is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight. For more information, call (800) 471-0352 or go to www.ethelschocolate.com. |
