The Bloomer Chocolate Company factory adds to the distinctive experience of downtown Chicago. As we walked around the Near North Side on our way to eat a pork mole dish (another chocolate concoction), we noticed the heavy odor of chocolate. The Bloomer factory, which has supplied chocolate wholesale for decades, operates near the Loop and Magnificent Mile. The odor has been so heavy, in fact, that a neighbor complained and the EPA fined the company last year.
I am glad I didn't have to breathe in that alluring powdery smell every day because I'd never be able to curb my chocolate cravings. A constant, powerful reminder of chocolate's seduction would undo me.
With all the cocoa wafting in the downtown air, it's no wonder we spotted so many prime shops filled with chocolate goodies. Within an eight block radius (or so), W. and I found a Hershey make-your-own chocolate "factory" store (complete with little chocolate-maker hats and ID badges), a Ghirardelli store right across the street from Hershey, a Lindt store, a Godiva store and, rarest of all, a Leonidas store.
We sampled products from all the chocolate makers except Ghirardelli, and that was only because we hail from that company's market stronghold. We even bought hot chocolate on our Chicago Architectural Foundation boat tour and chocolate cocktails at our hotel bar.
There must have been something in the air -- besides a chill -- that influenced our purchasing decisions!
Yummm, how was that pork mole dish by the way?
E. and I are always looking for a place to find good mole.
Posted by: Superchuy | October 31, 2006 at 11:41 AM