after dinner sneeze

t says:  If there’s one thing I love to eat, it’s chocolate.  Surprised?  Probably not.  My chocolate consumption has recently featured a few more-expensive-than-a-Hershey’s-bar options.  There were highs and there were lows.  Allow me to show relay my findings …

mast bros chocolate + almonds + sea salt

Cutting straight to the chase, what you see above is my new favorite chocolate bar, trumping even bacon-studded Vosges bars!  Amazing!  Underneath that cutely wrapped package is the good stuff:

beauty on the inside and outside

The chocolate was so impressive that I immediately opened up a browser window and emailed myself my thoughts.  First off, these aren’t just “plain old almonds” – these were toasty and smoky and accompanied by a sharp twang of salt.  This was opposite a rich dark chocolate that wasn’t the least bit crumbly and had only a hint of sleep.  It was funny, but this time I didn’t mind that the chocolate came on kind of late (the almonds are definitely front-and-center in the beginning).  Actually – this bar epitomizes the kind of chocolate chip cooking that I one day aspire to make …

But, because these bars are hard to come by (and ridiculously expensive – who can afford $8 candy bars?), I have found an acceptable alternative:

These guys are under $3 around the corner at the grocery store and come off a bit sweeter than the Mast Bros bar, and the almonds aren’t as toasty-tasting, but not too shabby.  When feeling a little down, I know that I could stop by and grab one of these bad boys for an instantaneous pick-me-up.  Delish!

And it’s way better than the far-too-sweet, far-too-mild Theo bar:

organic and fair trade ... but not quite as delicious ...

So, for me, I’ll reserve Mast Bros bar for special occasions, but I guess I’ll have to stick with ChocoLove (ugh, I hate that name) until our wallet gets a little deeper.