"Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger, a little bit thicker…"

There are these 2 guys from Jersey, whose praises I have been singing for years. Not only have I raved about their restaurants, both of which have fantastic seasonal cuisine and focused wine lists, but I’ve also recommended their food/wine-related radio talk show dozens of times. It’s the only show I know where the conversation can quickly turn from foie gras to White Castles—hence, my kinda show. So, a couple of weeks ago I get an email from one of them there guys, Francis, telling me that they’ve gone into the chocolate business and are now making a small line of truffles. He’s going on and on about what this and that newspaper columnist had to say about them, what great reviews this and that magazine gave them, and I’m thinking, dude, what about us bloggers?!? We’re “media” too, for Christ’s sake…let me at some of that dark brown gold! I may not have as many readers as Gourmet magazine, but me and my peeps have a thing…a mojo…a groove. Dig?

And here’s the thing—these chocolate truffles were amazing. As someone who makes truffles at home, I know what chocolate full of stabilizers and preservatives looks, tastes and feels like. It lacks the freshness and texture of handcrafted chocolate. It lacks the complexity of natural ingredients. Basically, it sacrifices delicacy for shelf life. The Restaurant Guys Chocolates suffer NONE of these faults because they don’t use stabilizers or preservatives. Eat them within 10 days or you’ll be shit out of luck with freshness. Mine didn’t last 48 hours, but then I’m a professional. The flavors will change seasonally, folks, but here’s a breakdown of my box of goodies:

Stage Left Coffee – When I eat truffles I always bite them in half instead of shoving them in my mouth whole, so I can see and smell the inside. When I took a bite out of this one it smelled like freshly ground coffee beans. Deep, dark, rich and robust.

Family Recipe Irish Cream – No commercial Irish Cream used here, only fresh ingredients, organic milk and Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey. That cloyingly sweet synthetic taste you get with other Irish Creams is absent here. It was a much more graceful, restrained version.

Austrian Roasted Pumpkin Seed w/Maldon Sea Salt – My absolute favorite of the bunch. If you’ve ever roasted salted pumpkin seeds at home after you’re done carving Jack O’ Lanterns for your kids, imagine dunking one in dark chocolate and you’ll have a vague idea of what this tastes like. VERY fresh tasting, and it even taught me a great trick: when I salt my truffles, I sprinkle it on top, but these were salted on the bottom so that it’s the first thing that hits your tongue! AMAZING stuff.

Elderflower – Can be used in teas or waters, but most often used to make a cordial. This was probably my least favorite, but not because of their shortcomings—I’m just not nuts about elderflower. Guys, you taking notes for my next batch?!?

The Diablo – This was a great truffle that could’ve been absolutely perfect if it had a little more heat. I happen to make one similar to this at home, with cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper, but if you’re gonna call it “The Diablo” it should deliver a little more on the fire and brimstone.

I have no idea how long they’ll have these flavors around before they switch it up, so run—don’t walk—to the website. Hopefully they’ll keep me updated (so I can keep you updated) as flavors change:

Restaurant Guys Chocolate

Tagged as: chocolate truffles, restaurant guys