Coco Rouge

My boyfriend (as much– if not even more– of a chocolate fanatic than me) and I found this place a few months ago while we were waiting for our table at Jerry’s. It took one sip of the house hot chocolate.
No hot chocolate will ever sate us ever again.
Since then we have also tried the single-​origin hot chocolate (can’t remember where from… Madagascan, I think?) and an off-​menu Cherry Blossom hot chocolate… both quite delicious… but that house chocolate haunts my DREAMS.
Worth every penny. I will pay good $ for high quality.
Not worth every penny, however, was their bacon chocolate bar, which absolutely paled in comparison to Vosges. I could BARELY taste the bacon… really, I just tasted a smokiness, no «meaty» bacon flavor or bits at all. And for $ 7, you wanna taste that bacon! :-(

I never have claimed to be a chocolate lover and yet I always love browsing the truffle case to see what they’ve concocted this time around. Just hearing a description of each piece is proof that time and energy has been put into sourcing the finest ingredients. Any time I have guests in town, this is on my list of places to go. The quality of the work here is fantastic. Since it’s finally starting to warm up outside, I highly recommend checking the menu of frozen goodness on the wall. The sorbet selection is mesmerizing. With every visit, I find myself having a new favorite flavor.
If you’re in the neighborhood and grabbing a bite to eat, I highly suggest that you save room for dessert and walk to Coco Rouge.

Nope, got dragged there against my will, and once again it tasted a bit «off».
PS — Did you know this place is closed Mondays? How annoyed their actual customer must be.

The atmosphere of this place is nice and quiet. Chocolate glore! The best hot chocolate I’ve ever had! Next time I’m going to try their candies!

If you are a chocolate lover, this is your place. Their chocolate bars are to die for. Their ice creams are also very good, not just their chocolate flavors, but also the fruit ones. VERY creamy, dense and rich.
Décor wise, the place has an urban/​industrial feel to it, with a touch of vintage.

I’ve had a truffle or two from Coco Rouge before and was perfectly satisfied with them. They have the now standard bourgeois types of truffle like Earl Grey, Lavender or Curry and they are up to the now standard high standards for chocolates. I never thought to write a review based on those three or so truffles bought for some reason; I guess the impression was passing.
Last week though, I joined half a dozen friends for a celebration with hot coco and was simply delighted the whole way through. The chili hot coco was spicy at first sip then followed by decadently thick chocolate as it slid down my throat — ecstatic. I also got what I referred to as my bourgie cookie at $ 2.75 a pop, but it was honestly worth every cent. It was some sort of Madagascan chocolate nib construction that just really knocked my socks off. It was crisp, not soft or chewy, but not stale or dry either. The cocoa nibs seemed to be shaved and were thoroughly distributed across the entirety of the large cookie. Let me just leave it at this: it was eye-​rolling, savory delicious.
I’d go back and pay $ 7 for hot coco and a cookie again, so there’s that. Also, the nice employee let us sit there way past «closing time» as she cleaned up in back.

There are at least three more months of brutal winter ahead, so NOW is the perfect time to try Coco Rouge’s best item — their hot chocolate.
There are usually six to ten different flavors of hot chocolate to choose from. I like the Almond Milk and Pistachio Milk best. Both have a very sweet creamy white chocolate base and contain shaving of real nuts. Alternately, my husband swears by the basic milk chocolate. Friends have given me mixed reviews about various dark chocolate varieties. The cost is reasonable (much more so than their overpriced chocolates) at $ 4 — 5 a cup.
The hot chocolate is made fresh to order, which usually takes about five minutes, so don’t stop by when in a rush. The interior of the store is interesting to take-​in while waiting, but not exactly cozy, so I prefer to get my drink to go, and sip while strolling down Division.
Coco Rouge is the perfect place to stop while mid-​day shopping or after enjoying dinner at a nearby restaurant.

If I am going to waste calories on chocolate, it better be freaking phenomenal!!! I rather spend a fortune on one savory, delectable, tasty bite, rather than $ 10.00 on a cheap junk box of truffles made 5 months ago.
Coco Rouge can take all my extra calories. The chocolate is mind blowing with creativity and FRESH ingredients!
If you are looking for quantity, then go and take your cheap, bad tasting pallet over to Fannie May or better yet the grocery store and get a Hersey’s bar. — This place is all about quality!
I have tried several of their hot & iced chocolate drinks as well, I was most impressed with the iced pistachio chocolate drink. Most tasty!

This place just edges out Vosges and my favorite quality chocolate place. (local places are the best aren’t they)
Although they are expensive, it is worth it to buy one or two (or three :)) pieces for your self as a treat. Also the mago-​chili icecream is soo good. I love my sweet with a little spicy and this reminded me of the elotes man when you get the mango and put chili powder on it (in a good way). I want to go back and try the baked treats! will report later ;)

An actual conversation I had with the girl working behind the counter, regarding the tiny utensil accompanying their gelato:
Me: Do you have any spoons that aren’t made of wood?
Girl: Uh… [blank stare] Why? …Are you allergic to wood?
Beyond the high-​as-​a-​kite/​über spacey (though, I think she was just really stoned) counter girl, you can’t go wrong with anything here! The truffles are delicious. The hot chocolate is deliriously rich: thick, creamy, chocolatey. Go with a small, anything larger and you will die from overindulgence. (What a satisfying way to go, though.) The gelato is tasty, too. I especially enjoy the truffle. It sounds weird, right, truffle gelato? But it’s delish.
I hope you get the same counter girl I had that time. On the one hand, she was slow as shit, but on the other hand, I got a fun-​to-​tell ridiculous story out of it.

So their Smoked Banana Crème Fraiche ice cream was pretty much heaven. Subtle smokiness & creamy banana. Sooo good. Probably the best ice cream I’ve had all summer.
They have cupcakes now too! Did not try them, but looked really good.
Coco Rouge is pricey, but the quality of their products is top notch. Go in for a yummy ice cream treat before the summer is over!

I want them to adopt me. It’s some small version of heaven in there.
One. It’s like a family-​run thing, from what I can tell. Sometimes I’ve gone in there and the propietor’s nieces are in there at a table, coloring. cute.
Two. The people are really friendly and nice and happy and helpful. If *I* worked at an awesome chocolate emporium, man, I’d be happy, too. They can tell you which chocolates have gluten and which don’t. Then you buy and pig out accordingly. Yummmmm.
Three. BACON CHOCOLATE BAR.
Four. Hot chocolate in the winter! Iced chocolate in the summer! Oh dear, I am making myself drool.
Five. It’s pretty.
Also, they have ice cream now, and you can have private choco parties. get on the mailing list. get thee to Coco Rouge. and take me with you.

My update review is to alert everyone to the fact that now instead of just getting delicious chocolates and sweets you can now have ice cream… DID YOU HEAR ME PEOPLE??? ICE CREAM
And not just any ice cream– fun amazing flavors you haven’t thought of before and some old favorites (pistachio…mmmmm). Black truffle was the first i tried and is still my favor ate. but everything I’ve tried has been amazing.
I cant get enough of this place and can’t wait to see what they come up with next! (my suggestion = booze… then I’d never have to leave)

I first came across this place when shopping on Division on a chilly fall day; I saw a sign propped up on the sidewalk outside declaring, «Our hot chocolate kicks more ass than Chuck Norris!»
Though they seem to have divorced themselves from that slogan (probably after Mr. Norris got involved with the losing Mike Huckabee presidential campaign), Coco Rouge does indeed offer up one kickin’ hot cocoa. I have been several times and can never bring myself to order anything different from what I got the first time: the hazelnut (Gianduja) because it was so perfect. I only get the single strength, which is plenty thick to my mind; there is a double-​thickness available, but it would probably be the consistency of tar! I also brought out-​of-​town friends here on a cold winter’s night and they enjoyed as well.
I have never had anything aside from the hot chocolate so I can’t comment on the other products, but if I could never have another type of hot chocolate besides their Gianduja for the rest of my life I wouldn’t mind.
One star down because the place, despite searingly red pillars of light (which created interesting visual effects in photos taken w/​o a flash there~) has a strangely stark feel, like something is still missing about it. I have felt this every time I’ve been in, and it makes me not want to linger. Something needs to be done perhaps to make it a bit more inviting.

The Hot Chocolate is pretty spectacular. When you take that first sip, you take a quick step back and realize that this is «slap your mama» good hot chocolate.
Just imagine, feeling almost a rush from the caffeine and a little drunk from the richness and that is what we are talking about.

Their dark hot chocolate is mighty fine. VERY good. That merits the extra star. Otherwise it’s 2 star experience all the way. No, sorry ever-​so-​hip pretentious bohemian counter person who still smells of a Naperville highschool lunchroom, I have no idea where the f*cking cocoa beans came from or why they taste different from region to region. I guess that’s why I didn’t open a f*cking chocolate store.
Also, «these berries only grow on one mountaintop in the world»…my ass.

Contrary to popular belief girls actually have two best friends…
1. Diamonds.
and…
2. CHOCOLATE! (duh.)
I couldn’t resist popping into Coco Rouge after my lunch next door at Jerry’s for a little sweet. The space is decorated really beautifully… like a Parisian café from the future. All the red décor, concrete floors and black lacquer chandeliers are right up my alley…
The selection of truffles is surprisingly minimal. They had about 10 offerings when I was there in a little glass case… «where’s the rest of it??» I thought… I’m sure it’s painstaking to make these truffle treats daily by hand with such detail (i.e. 24k gold, pistachio dust, blueberry crystals, etc) but a few more options would have been nice.
The truffles I tried were fabulous… my favorite was the «Alba» — a white chocolate exterior blended with white truffle and a bittersweet filling made with candied black truffles. HOLY SHNIKES!!! I’ve never tasted anything like it… the distinct taste of truffle but in something so sweet and smooth I was practically laid out on their floor… Gimme more!
Their list of rare teas and coffees was impressive… but I was less than impressed when I came to find out they were sold out of 3 of the 5 coffees they offer. On a Tuesday afternoon. Big coffee rush that day??? Seemed a little odd…
I don’t think that Coco Rouge beats my tried and true Vosges, but it can come close… as long as they don’t do away with those truffle truffles!

I was completely skeptical of this place. Another snobby chocolate shop in another hipster neighborhood… Something about the bright lights of the façade turned me off. I left Chicago, never having gone in.
Then one glorious day my boyfriend gave me one of their chocolate bars and i started to see the light. The only other $ 7 chocolate bar i had ever had was from Marie Belle (nyc) that was arguably twice the weight of coco rouge’s. The quality was comparable (marie belle is one of my favorites) so my interest was stirred.
I finally went inside and had a very similar experience as i did when i first walked into Vosges and saw all of their crazy creations. However coco rouge was not at all snoody as you might expect, while vosges generally overflows with it. One of the previous reviews for Coco Rouge reads «Reading the descriptions was like food pornography but the chocolates were… just good. They didn’t blow me away as far as taste goes but the combinations were entirely innovative and the ingredients were quite exotic.» I felt that way about the truffles at vosges, but not here. I tried one with cherries, orange and went home with a bag of the «passion fruit with mexican chili powder» and all were delicious.
And the bacon bar… I was so curious for such a long time and it has such an interesting flavor. I know it’s scary but my curiousity trumped my fear. It reminded me of having a cocktail with Mezcal Tequila and Mango– it has sweet and a savory notes and is a very palatte shocking and noteworthy experience. Try it! Seriously!

Pistachio milk.
Wow.
Just…wow.
Decked out with a beautiful and very interesting interior and offering friendly service, Coco Rouge has chocolate and a select variety of other goodies down pat. I myself am not a huge fan of chocolate (sacrilege, I know!), but I do appreciate innovation. Fancy shmancy chocolate emulsions, honey of eight thousand different varieties (with just as high prices!), «evolved» (their word, not mine!) truffles with creative combinations, and the piece de resistance — pistachio milk — pistachio purée with white chocolate goodness. *shivers in foodgasm* Mmmm…
Not quite five stars, though, because their «creative» combinations don’t always… shall we say… work. My other pistachio indulgence was… well…not so great. There was Italian pistachio purée (thumbs up!), toasted coconut (two thumbs up!), crystallized ginger (ehhhhh…), and crispy fellutine (yay!). The ginger was definitely a little eh and overpowered the pistachio nutty nutty goodness.
Overall quite good and a very fun space. The truffles packaging is also out of this world — very nifty wooden boxes with wax seals! Fun for gifts, but, not being a chocoholic, I’m not sure I’d spend all that scrilla on something for myself.

The red glow décor of Coco Rouge is so fabulous that you think you’re walking into a really trendy lounge. However, a chocolate shop might be even more exciting than a lounge!
I’m not exactly a chocolate snob because I’m just as happy with Godiva as I am with Fannie Mae. However, the chocolate at Coco Rouge actually did melt in my mouth. I had 2 pieces and then had to walk away because I feared I was going to eat the entire box of chocolate myself!