One of the joys of compiling a local-food holiday gift guide is also an important aspect of the work: namely, the taste-testing research that goes into vetting foods for inclusion. Before you scoff at the idea that eating chocolate truffles is work, remember: there are a lot of dodgy chocolates out there. Waxy! Underflavored! Tainted with disgusting artificial flavorings! It’s really no summer picnic in the park.
OK, fine, we’ll concede that it’s mostly a summer picnic in the park. Case in point: We tried the dark chocolate truffles ($20 for a 9-piece box) from local chocolatier B.T. McElrath and thought that they were as on-point dreamy as one could reasonably expect. The ganache is luxurious with just a touch of boozy depth, the chocolate exterior is firm but not waxen, with a cocoa- (not sugar-) driven taste to it. In short, chocolate lovers are going to love these things. And everyone else will mostly likely like them as well.
I love these, but maybe replace the photo– there’s a hair in the bottom right.
Not positive it’s a hair (strands of thread, etc. can flash light that way) but it definitely doesn’t look great. It wasn’t in the box with the chocolates, so I blame myself. I’ve replaced the image with a version Photoshopped to be sans fiber – posting about it here for the sake of transparency.