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?