Bespoke Chocolates

Bespoke *was so Easy To Miss.
*=see below as to why it WAS and not is.
While walking on East 1^st St on the other side of the Avalon building, possibly a year ago, the gf and I spotted an alley named Extra Place. Curious as to what was in this dead end alley, we walked down it.
We came across a tiny chocolate shop, literally a hole in the wall, called Bespoke. A lady with British accent manned the place, and recommend the salty caramel chocolate and another dark chocolate piece, so we bought both.
It was one of my first salty caramel experiences, and it was delicious, as was the other choco. Bespoke was truly a hidden gem, despite being pricey.
It «was» a hidden gem because, as I sadly discovered today, they are no more. A sign on the store front read, «Bespoke Chocolates is CLOSED». There may be hope for a resurrection elsewhere, and they recommend you follow them on their website for updates. Bespoke fell victim to their hard to notice location. Tan pis.

A hidden gem.
This is a chocolatier’s chocolate shop. Very nicely made.
Nice packaging if you’re into that. I got them unadorned for near-​term gratification.
Very nice subtle, well executed chocolates. The flavors make sense and are well balanced. Someone has a gifted palate and knows how to express it in the chocolates.

The most delicious chocolates ever. These are for true chocolate lovers. The Pretzel Covered Sea Salt Toffee filled truffles are my favorite. They just explode in your mouth and you are in liquid toffee heaven.

Another local chocolatier that I’m a fan of. On a tiny shop on a tiny street you’ll find delightful bonbons. I love the combination of chocolate and caramel so the pretzel covered sea salt caramel bonbons are my favorite. They are soo delectable and simply irresistible! The only caveat is the price. It is expensive for such a small goodie.

woooooooooooooooooooooooooooow wowowowowowow
So, I bought a living social deal way back when, but then never got around to using it. It was going to expire in like two days, so I called on the Mom to help me redeem my treats!
I figured I’d just give the chocolates to my mom as a gift, since she was nice enough to get them, so the coupon didn’t go to waste. But, as we all know, moms are the best, and when i got home this evening there were three little chocolates waiting for me on my kitchen counter :)
I was already pretty full from dinner, and I had a handful of peanut MMs from my co worker, so i was like eh…
but then curiosity got the best of me, and i decided to try just one, and it was like… woooooooooooooooooooooooooooow wowowowowowow
It was amazing!!! The chocolate had a teeny bit of sea salt on top, and then the inside was an amazing caramel. I’ve never tasted anything like this before!
2.25 per chocolate is still a little steep for everyday consumption, but I think these chocolates would make a fantastic special occasion gift (cough:meet the inlaws: cough)
****REVIEW UPDATE**** I just tried the other two chocolates, and I am bumping this place up to a 5 star… WOW.

A hidden treasure in a yuppified alley. I was doing my usual, random walk from Soho back to the EV and stopped by because I’d read good things about this place. Someone (I presume the owner) was busy making chocolates while there was a short line to purchase. I’m not a big chocolate person, but I ended up gravitating towards the Single-​Estate Colombian Dark Chocolate Truffle and… I can’t remember what the other one was. Note: I mentioned I’m not a chocolate person, but wouldn’t mind gifts from here.

Hidden in an alley, lies a mystic treasure,
Bespoke Chocolates with its heavenly delights,
Decadent wonders for which there is no measure,
Dainty morsels of ecstatic unearthly bites.
Precious, custom-​made are these chocolate truffles,
Small quantities, best ingredients, with her hands,
Rich, celestial love! Sighs cannot be muffled,
More! I cannot resist my base earthly demands.
Even more wondrous — chocolate hazelnut spread!
Sinfully smooth with hints of hazelnut and almond,
I eat and watch the growing empty jar with dread,
I dream of this rapturous luscious choice viand.
Enchanted Bespoke, you’ve stolen my heart and mind!
I’ve forsaken others; your chocolates I shall dine.
***********
Thanks to Chris R. for enlightening me.

Came here to use my LivingSocial coupon.
Décor: ⁴⁄₅
–definitely different from all the other chocolate places
–no places to sit
Service: ⁴⁄₅
–service was friendly, patient and helpful
Chocolate Presentation: ⁴⁄₅
Taste Buds Say: ⁴⁄₅
–Pretzel-​Covered Sea-​Salted Caramels caught my eye. The initial pretzel flavor was strong followed by oozing caramel and then BAM! salted caramel explosion. I’m glad I got 3 of these. 4.5÷5
–Lavender Honey Fleur de Sel Caramel — a mix between sweet, bitter and salt. I’m neutral on this one. 2.5÷5
–Single-​Estate Colombian Dark Chocolate Truffle — i couldnt swallow this. Tasted like rum, ewww. Also gets all over your fingers. ¹⁄₅
–Hazelnut Praline — hazelnut flavor was medium but the dark chocolate overwhelmed the hazelnut. ²⁄₅
–Chai Spice — this was yummy. I could taste the tea, cinnamon and nutmeg. The milk chocolate was delicious. 4.5÷5
–French Milk Chocolate — This was mild and amazing. The gooey center just flowed down my oropharynx. 4.5÷5
–Pumpkin Spice — mild pumpkin flavor but the chocolate overpowered. ³⁄₅
The coupon gave me 9 handmade chocolates of my choice but it is normally $ 2.25 each and SMALL.
I wouldn’t pay $ 22 for 9 assorted chocolates but if a $ 10 deal comes around I wouldn’t mind getting it again.

Tucked away on the dead-​end of Extra Place, Bespoke is a miniscule chocolate shop… that has vegan options! While we didn’t try the hazelnut truffle, we did try the pretzel bark: yum.
Not your typical pretzel/​chocolate combo, this bar boasts pretzel bits instead of chunks. Also, it errs on the side of lighter dark chocolate, so all of you «milk» chocolate lovers can rejoice. Give it a try.

Adorable shop! actual handmade chocolates, so so so refreshing after all the other Big Chocolate companies that seem to dominate this city. A great spot!
Oh, and the chocolates are good too. I didn’t grab any this time, but the pretzel bark made with Martin’s pretzels sounds like the best thing ever. I will be back soon!

The milk chocolate here tastes like Cadbury’s, but with a much better finish and far less sugar. The dark chocolate is a step up, with a wonderful lingering aftertaste. Their precious miniature creations using these chocolates all ring true: they’re high quality, well made and delicious. Not to mention creative. Standouts included a milk chocolate chai combination and a dark chocolate caramel and sea salt confection with crunchy bits of pretzel.
But at $ 2.25 for a tiny candy I expect to be blown away, or at least see my wife blown away. Neither of us were. So you’re bounced down to three stars, Bespoke. If my chocoholic wife isn’t that impressed I’m not going to shell out my bucks for your cute creations very often. That doesn’t mean we won’t be back, just that we’re not going to go out of our way for you.

So I finally visited Bespoke to sample their legendary pretzel-​caramel truffle. I was so excited to obtain this delight, and devoured it as soon as I left the chocolatier. As warned, I expected the caramel to be oozing after a bite. I bit, caramel oozed, and i bit again, and everything was gone.
I also tried the pumpkin truffle, which is probably seasonal. It impressed me more than the caramel one.
For the price, there are better places in the city. The truffles are REALLY small, and honestly, I didn’t think there was anything particularly fantastic or flavorful about them.

A crunchy sample of heaven! Yep. That is the only possible description of the Pretzel-​Covered Sea-​Salted Caramels. Their signature creation is a liquid center of caramel surrounded by DARK smooth chocolate and rolled in pretzel bits. Chocolate-​covered pretzels used to be my favorite confection. Adding caramel to the equation is making me seriously reconsider my loyalty.
Word to the wise – this is a one bite treat since the caramel is liquid. One crack in the coating and you could have a gooey-​though-​delicious mess!
Not to be outdone, the Venezuelan Dark Chocolate Cognac Truffle was a bit of dark goodness with an even darker center.
All of the chocolates are handmade with high quality ingredients. It shows in the quality of the product!

If you are a fan of «Gossip Girl» then you would love this place…
Good enough for Lily Bass? Yes.
As for me… I selected two with the help of the gentile man.
Strawberry balsamic –deep liquid nice, acidic.
Caramel w/Martin’s pretzel –this one is the winner! Oozes of burnt caramel with crunchy center reminds me of Almond Rocca?! (my Grandmother’s fav) and itsy bitsy pieces of pretzel. Sweet and Salty.
Glad I came in to experience this little shop as trying new things are always fun!

I am a huge proponent of picking up afternoon treats while wandering on the weekends, but I wouldn’t count on stumbling upon this place. Make sure you are on the lookout for their sign pointing you down their side alley. Also note they are closed on Mondays.
Once you find it you will be pleasantly surprised by this charming little storefront. It’s not the kind of chocolate place hawking a million items. They stick to the handcrafted chocolates they know best, and I’m certainly happy they do!
If you in any way like nutella or hazelnut, you MUST pick up their perfectly salted take on the spread. It comes in cute little jars they perch on the wall shelf right by the door. They usually only have a few on hand so snag one if you can!
As almost every Unilocaler states, the pretzel caramel chocolate is fantastic for those of you who love the salty/​sweet combination. Their peanut butter chocolate has only been there once or twice when I stopped in, but it is amazing. I’d really branch out and sample a bunch of the flavors if you’re a chocolate fan. I wasn’t as excited about the strawberry balsamic flavor when I purchased them, but it turned out to be one of my favorites.

I’m all for local products and supporting local businesses, but the point of local is that local is supposedly better/​fresher/​tastier than their imported counterparts.
Bespoke is the exception to this rule. There are better, more local chocolatiers and chocolate shops. The truffles are oh the small side and aren’t particularly smooth.
I sampled the strawberry balsamic truffle, most recently. Kee’s balsamic truffle is better all-​around: size, consistency (smoothness), richness, and presentation (Bespoke’s has this powdery pink crap all over it — which would be fine, if it added soemthing). The kicker? They’re about the same price.
If you’re willing to pay for chocolate in this city, there are so many better places to go. And if you really want sea salt chocolate pretzels, they’re easy to make and at a small fraction of what you’ll pay for Bespoke to do it for you.

Bespoke is one of a wave of artisan type chocolatiers flooding the NYC area. Small, clean shop with gorgeous, posh pricey pieces. I ordered 3 pieces that came to a little over $ 7 bangers. A dark chocalate with an orangey chocolate ganache, a raspberry truffle and the salted pretzel covered caramel truffle. One bite of the dark chocolate orange ganache which is a shiny geometric piece and you know that this chocolate is special. I don’t know what kind of dark chocalate she uses, but clearly it is of high variety.
The dark covered pretzel bark is a bargain at $ 4.50 for four decent sized pieces. It’s sort of speakeasyish out of the way loc. is charming.

I’m going to jump onto the bandwagon and say that the pretzel covered sea salted caramel is a must-​try for dessert lovers. There is a process to eating it:
1. Put the sweet into your mouth whole. Do not bite into it, or you will be covered in liquid caramel.
2. Bite down and feel the «pop», then let the flow of melty caramel fill your mouth.
3. Slowly savor the rest of it and enjoy the salty jolt from the sea salt mixed with the crunch of the pretzels, harmonized by the rich chocolate shell and the leftover caramel flavor.
Mm, I can imagine the taste of it now. Or rather, I’m wondering why I’m not already on my way to get more from Bespoke. BRB.

Tucked away in a small alley, this is not one of the places that you’ll run into unless you know where to find it. The truffles are made fresh daily in the small store and although there is only a limited selection of truffles (for now, at least), it’s definitely worth going to. The southampton tea truffle an orange-​infused ginger truffle were pretty good, but the pretzel truffle filled with liquid sea salt caramel is the true winner — great crunchy texture from the pretzel, and perfect balance of sweet and salty. It’s one of the best truffles I’ve had. I’ll definitely be back and next time, I’ll be sure to get several of these!

The chocolates did indeed last two weeks (I had help eating them too [thanks, chris!]. I wouldn’t want to get the reputation that I’m some sort of glutton *coughs*). The orange infused, champagne and Chai spice (my favorite!) chocolates were all delicately flavored and were not overpowering at all on the palate. There were layers of flavors. As I savored them I exclaimed, «how’d she do this?» I guess that’s why Rachel Zoe is a master!