After the departure of
Debauve & Gallais from Manhattan, coincided with the shift in money flow to the greater world out there, namely, China (I thought the pollution in China had finally produced a hallucination when I saw Devauve & Gallais in the form of a Disney-esque pseudo Baroque building in the middle of recycled "old" Shanghai - Do as the Romans, a.k.a Chinese, do), this is the best and only place to go for chocolates in New York City these days. Yes, yes, Le Maison de Chocolate is decent and, of course, their macarons are abominable, but the more stores it opens, the deeper it is sinking into mediocrity. As for
MarieBelle, for years I have brushed past through the glass cases to the cacao bar at the back for a reason: Their chocolates are cute, but cute is not a word to describe flavors (it is, or was, already a miracle that the hot chocolate was good and let's not wish for too much).
