Hot Cocoa You Have to Try in Philly this Winter and a Few to Skip

Welcome to Hot Chocolate Wars 2015! Over the past few years, I've written several posts to help fellow non-coffee drinkers navigate a wide range of options in Philly to find the elusive cup of cocoa that's not lukewarm, bland and/or overpriced. Here are a few new reviews to help you sip the best, with a extra tips about what to munch on, too. 

Little Spoon

Hot chocolate and tasty little biscuit at Little Spoon cafe

Little Spoon is the latest addition to South Street West, taking over the corner spot at 15th & South. From the outside, it looks like a cute little coffee shop to swing in for a quick bite. You can certainly grab a drink to go or sit at one of the few counter spots, but a full menu of breakfast, brunch and lunch options makes Little Spoon more of a sit-down cafe.

The hot chocolate offered good chocolately flavor and a bonus biscuit on the side, but fell short on temperature. I've said before that my pet peeve is fancy cafe hot chocolate that starts out lukewarm and quickly turns cold. I won't go out of my way again for Little Spoon's hot chocolate, but do plan to go back for brunch. On a Saturday in December it was packed with a 40 min wait; clearly we needed another spot like this in the neighborhood.

The Bakeshop on 20th Street

The Bakeshop on 20th Street is pint-sized but chock full of delicious-looking scones, muffins, croissants and more. They serve breakfast sandwiches, too, but note that the shop is not owned by Spread Bagelry across the street, so you aren't getting sandwiches on their bagels. (Originally Spread nabbed the property but that fell through so it's owned by someone else now.)

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Scone from The Bakeshop on 20th

Hot chocolate is not listed on the chalkboard menu, but when I asked they said they made it - and make it they did! Ding ding ding... finally a winner! The Bakeshop's hot cocoa was definitely one of the best I've had around the neighborhood lately in terms of flavor AND temperature. I got it to-go, but it started off plenty hot enough to warm up my walk home and stayed that way. And my cinnamon brown sugar scone was quite good, too. Definitely going back for more treats and hot chocolate.

OCF Coffee House 

Heading back to South Street, OCF Coffee House is one you can skip if you're jonesing for hot cocoa but worth a swing in for a decent bagel. The bagels come from Four Worlds Bakery at 46th & Woodland. As you read in our Knead Bagels review, great bagels are tough to come by in Philly but an everything from Four Worlds made me pretty happy. OCF also serves gluten free cupcakes from Sweet Freedom down the street.

OCF often advertises Nutella Hot Chocolate on its sidewalk chalkboard. It is not on the regular menu inside but usually available. The drink, well, tasted like hot boring liquid. The barista said they just swirl Nutella into hot milk instead of cocoa mix. Could have been a lot more potent but at least it was a deviation from the norm. I tried the regular hot chocolate on a separate visit, and it, too, was pretty bland and lukewarm. Sitting down inside OCF can also be an odd experience. For a while there was no music and only a few people so you could hear every word of the conversations around you. Needs some acoustic help or sound absorption.

(No further photos. Let's face it, to-go hot chocolates all look the same.)
 
Readers: where else should I try this year for Hot Chocolate Wars??

Hot Chocolate Wars: 30th Street Station

Over the past two years, I've written about my experiences trying hot chocolate all over Philadelphia. There are still dozens more to taste test, but none are more present in my weekday working life than the hot chocolate options at 30th Street Station.

You have four choices at Philadelphia's landmark train station: Saxby's, Au Bon Pain, Cosi and Dunkin' Donuts. Here are my thoughts...  You decide what's best for your next train trip.

Miel Patisserie for les Macarons Merveilleux

A friend recently pointed me to Olivia's Palate for delicious recipes and informative posts on Philadelphia-area restaurants from a regular "jane" foodie like me. If you are intrigued by this new paleo diet/lifestyle that seems to be growing in popularity, Olivia has a good explanation of it, as well as a set of helpful links and recipes. 

Anyhow, Olivia's mention of Miel Patisserie is what caught my eye. She's french, so I trust her judgement on where to eat great macarons. I have spent nearly every weekend of the past five years wandering about Center City and passing Miel Patisserie oh, maybe, 200+ times, but never stopped in. I guess I figured it would be too fancy or expensive. Not the case.

Apricot and Salted Caramel macarons

I ventured in one Saturday, went straight for the salted caramel macaron and took a gamble on an apricot variety. The mix of soft, sweet caramel filling with the delicate crunch of the outer cookies and a few dashes of salt baked into the top was just perfect. Quel bonheur! Same goes for the apricot. The mix of textures was ideal and then the light burst of fruit flavor was even better.

Hot Chocolate Wars: European style at Capogiro and Philly Chocolate

(update Fall 2013: Philly Chocolate moved to 1944 South Street in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood)

The folks behind Capogiro UPenn's Twitter feed spotted my tweets about reviewing hot chocolate around Philadelphia and tweeted at us to suggest their own Italian Hot Chocolate. Glad they did, because a) I wouldn't have thought of going there for anything but gelato and b) the Italian HC ended up being great!

20th & Sansom Capogiro Italian Hot Chocolate 

I have traditionally shied away from the thicker, European style hot chocolate fearing it would taste like a liquid candy bar, but the version at Capogiro may have won me back over. I tried it at the 20th & Sansom location, whose rendition was just rich enough. I could also tell high quality chocolate was going into this drink, versus mass-produced syrup or powder (it is, after all, $4.00 so it better be good).

As an extra perk, in addition to the just-larger-than-espresso cup of cocoa, you get a bonus mini pitcher with at least two more cupfuls to drink. It stayed really hot the entire time, too - just the thing to warm me up after holiday shopping. I have to warn you that the surface may not seem so hot, but it is very hot underneath so sip slowly to avoid a burned tongue. Finally, whipped cream automatically came on the side, just how I prefer it. While there, I also had a good tuna melt panini, which was a basic tuna and cheddar sandwich on yummy multi-grain bread.

Hot Chocolate Wars: Good Karma and Ants Pants Cafe

You win some, you lose some, right? To me, hot chocolate either falls somewhere on the scale of good-to-great, or it is just really bad. I've written about a bunch of spots that I like around Philadelphia for this "Hot Chocolate Wars" series, but here are two places you are better off drinking something else.

Ants Pants hot chocolate

I am a big fan of Australian-themed Ants Pants Cafe at 22nd & South for its bacon, egg and cheese croissant sandwiches. The sweet potato fries - which come with sour cream and a sweet chili sauce for dipping - and the hand-cut potato chip fries are also awesome. But when I ordered a hot chocolate recently, I was quite disappointed. It was totally watered down and, even worse, served in a hard plastic water cup that retained absolutely zero heat. If you've had better there, let me know because hopefully my experience wasn't the norm. Otherwise, lesson learned. I'll stick to tea and OJ with my breakfast sammie.


Good Karma Cafe at 22nd & Pine is always packed with studious-looking twenty somethings and has a good reputation as an ecologically and socially responsible business. It's also dog friendly and has a handful of outside seats for nicer weather. Bradd says the coffee is fine and I have personally enjoyed the muffins. Unfortunately I've tried the hot chocolate a couple times and it just doesn't measure up. Also watered down, it's neither hot nor chocolaty. Mixing it doesn't help either. Bummer for non-coffee drinkers because the cafe is so convenient to anyone in the Fitler Square and Graduate Hospital area.

Hot Chocolate Wars: Cafe Lutecia and Milkboy Philly

My ongoing taste test of hot chocolate throughout Philadelphia brought me to two new spots recently: Cafe Lutecia and Milkboy Philly.

Milkboy and Cafe Lutecia's hot chocolates both offer pleasing flavor - not over chocolatey or too thick to drink. Neither was lukewarm (my pet peeve with cafes) but both were still not quite hot enough for me. They are a fraction of the price of novelty shop RIM Cafe, but I would just ask the waiter to make sure your drink is nice and hot. And skip the whipped cream because I'm convinced that lowers the temperature. Plus, who needs those calories?

At Milkboy, I also recommend picking at the giant bowl of mixed spiced nuts for just a few dollars while you sit at their coffee/alcohol bar. Can't comment on the rest of their food because I haven't had it yet, but I like the overall chill vibe of the cafe/bar/music joint. Here's Midtown Lunch's review of other Milkboy food menu items.

Milkboy is located at 11th and Chestnut, so it's an easy place to stop in for a drink or a bite at any time of day. It's probably one of the few spots you can get a hot chocolate while your friend or significant other gets a beer.

Hot chocolate at Milkboy

Spiced Nuts at Milkboy

Coffee and cocoa at Cafe Lutecia

Cafe Lutecia is a cute little french cafe at 23rd and Lombard. It's frequently packed inside and out during brunch/lunch. It's not open in the evenings. I always assumed the crowd was neighborhood folks, but have heard recently of people who come in regularly from the 'burbs just for the food. We enjoy their soups and quiches (three specials per day!). It's also a good place to swing in and pick up a bagel or fresh croissant on your way to work, catch up on the latest French magazine or momentarily transport yourself to Paris when regulars strike up a conversation en Francais.

If you want to get out of your neighborhood for a bit, Cafe Lutecia is worth a bike ride or long walk, both for its food/drinks and a stroll around the quaint Fitler Square.
 
Where else should I try the hot chocolate this winter? (I know, I know, Golasa is on my list...)

Hot Chocolate Wars: RIM Cafe's Volcano

I'm not a coffee drinker but do crave a hot cup of cocoa pretty much every day during the winter. Last year I did a series of posts on hot chocolate drinks around Philadelphia to share which cafes, shops and stands I prefer. This year I put out feelers on Twitter for new spots to try and several followers insisted I hit up RIM Cafe.

The counter at RIM Cafe

As a chocolate lover, I'm shocked that I'd never heard of RIM Cafe before. In my personal Hot Chocolate War, RIM is the clear winner when it comes to generating pure "oh my god" (as the owner says) hot chocolatey bliss. The French/Italian-influenced cafe at 9th and Federal is a total novelty but worth the trip for its famous Volcano and to meet the Godfather-esque character behind the counter.

RIM's Volcano hot chocolate drinks come in 12 flavors from traditional to White Raspberry, and "Spicy" to Mozzarella Marshmallow Brulee. I picked Salted Caramel (the most popular) and Bradd chose Nutty Peanut Butter. The kicker is that they run from $7 - $15. Yeah, that's ridiculous for hot chocolate but I still think its worth saving your pennies and going at least once.

Owner Rene Kobeitri encourages you to watch him "make it a-happen" - a phrase you'll hear 25+ times and see on t-shirts throughout the excessively ornate shop. Not sure what his secret is behind the counter, but once prepped he pours the hot chocolate into glasses in front of you (first pic below) and proceeds to shave chocolates, nuts and fruit on top, explaining each as he goes (second pic). Between our two drinks, he added shaved dark chocolate, white chocolate, peanuts, cashews, pistachio, papaya, cranberry and more. My Salted Caramel Volcano also came with drizzled caramel squeezed across the top before all the shavings (third pic).

Man Down in Philly's Hot Chocolate War?

(Update 5/21: Oh look the comments are back, yay!)

(Update 5/15: This post originally ran last week. Thank you to everyone who commented with their fav Pamcakes flavors! But then Google Blogger went down for a day, taking this post and all the comments with it. I can't get the comments back but took them to heart and visited Pamcakes on Friday. Report to come this week!)

Are national recognition for your hot chocolate and a Best of Philly win not enough anymore? We were sad to read that Naked Chocolate's original location at 1317 Walnut St. has closed. The sign on the door says they are moving, but no one seems to know where yet or when they'll reopen.

I'm glad I finally made it Naked Chocolate in January to try their famous "European style" hot chocolate, and then returned a few weeks later to blissfully inhale one of their amazing cupcakes. I suppose the summer months are a good time to take this break, but hopefully Naked Chocolate will be back by Fall.

In the meantime, for a cupcake fix I'll be trying out Pamcakes on 20th between Pine and Lombard, the old Darling's Coffee and Cheesecake location because a) how completely adorable is that name??? b) it's right down the street from 22nd, and c) almost everyone on Yelp so far is raving about it. Any readers been yet and have recommendations?

Hot Chocolate Wars: Rage On

Last weekend I finally got to Naked Chocolate to try their renowned, signature beverage and enter it into 22nd & Philly's hot chocolate war. It was 11am and for me this was breakfast, so I didn't go for the cupcakes or other dessert-ish goodies and opted for a chocolate chip scone instead.

One of Naked Chocolate's claims to fame is that they serve European style h.c., which is much thicker and richer than what Americans are used to. Having spent several cold months in France during college, I had my share of Euro-style h.c. and frankly didn't care for it much, so I was glad to see that Naked Chocolate offers an "American" version too. Call me boring, but you should drink what you like, no?

Hot Chocolate Wars

I'm not the biggest fan of winter (aka being cold), but one thing I do look forward to each year is consuming an excessive amount of hot chocolate. I don't drink coffee and tea is nice at times, but a good cup of hot chocolate can warm up any frigid day.

Of course, no two kinds of hot chocolate are ever the same. And thus we have: Hot Chocolate Wars. How would you judge all the options out there? Here are my thoughts on the four brands I've had recently:

Starbucks. Sometime in 1998, Starbucks appeared on the corner of Main Street and Diamond Spring Road in Denville, NJ, and it changed my life. I wasn't into the high school party scene and the diner was starting to get old. Starbucks became my haven. It was my second date with my first boyfriend (first date was Titanic and Taco Bell. Oh yeah.), the setting for many nights of girl talk, and the perfect spot for catching up with old friends during college breaks.

Since I don't drink coffee, hot chocolate was my go-to drink during all seasons, so I developed quite an affinity for the Starbucks brand over the years. Eventually I added the caramel syrup, which was a nice touch, and then moved on to mint. But then I discovered the peppermint syrup one Christmas. Now, every year I yearn for that first cup of Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate and usually hold out until my first day of Christmas shopping in the city. Even today I still think Starbucks hot chocolate is the best of the gourmet options, and surprisingly at $2.85 for a "tall" its not the most expensive. Some of the shops themselves have expanded a little too much, but at many you can still find a cozy corner to snuggle up and read a book or catch up with a friend.

Seattle's Best. A new Seattle's Best was put up across the street from my office this summer, but as a non-iced coffee drinker I haven't made it over there many times yet. Finally, just this week I stopped in to try their peppermint hot chocolate, curious how it compares to Starbucks. For a hefty $3.25 I got a medium (they don't use fancy names for sizes).

On its own, I suppose the hot chocolate is decent, but their peppermint syrup was far too sweet for my taste. It also wasn't very hot (a common problem with coffee shops) and the people at this Seattle's Best always seem a little confused. I wouldn't go back for the hot chocolate, especially at that price.

Good ol' Swiss Miss. I grew up drinking Nesquik (which I swear I used to call it Nestle's Quik, did they change the name?) - you know, the kind you make with milk? So I was never really exposed to Swiss Miss until college, or perhaps even the workplace kitchen. I vaguely remember my mother saying she despised water-based hot chocolate so it was banned from the house. One thing about Swiss Miss is that every cup is pretty much the same. I've never had a bad packet. It's a solid option for daily consumption of hot chocolate, as long as you discover your preferred ratio of water to Swiss Miss mix.

My only beef with Swiss Miss concerns the marshmallow version. It's a fun alternative in theory, but the miniscule marshmallows melt as soon as they hit the hot water so you never really get to enjoy them. Best part? At most places you find Swiss Miss (the office, hotel continental breakfast bars, etc.), it's free!

Pods. We also have one of those Keurig coffee machines at home that takes pods. I got a box of the "Chocolat Chaud" pods from Green Mountain ($30 on Amazon for 24 pods, so its works out to be cheap) and they are alright, but my advice for Keurig users is to use a regular size mug, but hit the button for extra tall mug, otherwise the result will be too thick. At least it's super hot - much hotter than any coffee shop.

I'm sure I'll try more options over this winter, but these are the four at my greatest convenience. Cheers to a long and absurdly freezing winter.