Andelman
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Everything posted by Andelman
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Yeah, I read that article a few weeks ago, it really is unbelieveable. The base chocolate they are using (Pralus) is quite good, but their marketing is so deceiving. I saw the chocolates at Dean and Deluca last year and I couldnt believe the price tag. The pieces looked like they were about 5 grams at the most. It goes to show that marketing can go a long way..... It often surprises me how many people think that chocolatiers (like myself) actually manufacture their own chocolate from the bean. There are only a handful of people doing this in the states (also in Europe). It is a very costly endevour to produce chocolate from bean to bar, thus the lack of people doing it. I know Jacques Torres in NYC is making some his own couvertures, but I dont think he is using it for his bon-bons, but rather selling it in bar form. Even large, high-end places like Maison du Chocolat use chocolate from an outside source (in their case Valrhona). But for a place like Noka to say they make their own chocolate is ridiculous. Makes me angry....
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I just got back from a few days skiing in Park City and I have to say the dining options are pretty bleak. We ate at the Wasatch Brew Pub the first night which was fine (decent bar food and good beer). We also tried 350 Main, which was touted as one of the better restaurants in Park City. I would call it average at best. A bit overpriced for the quality of the food. The other nights we ate pizza and Mexican food which were fine. All in all, I would stay stick to the cheaper places and you wont be dissapointed. On another note, the skiing was quite good even though it was freezing cold (-10 to 0 on the mountain). Also, if you have the time, take a drive about 45 minutes north and ski at Snowbasin, just outside of Ogden. Its a great resort and not crowded at all. Have fun.
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Hello all. Just a few items to add as the holiday season approaches. Our retail shop at 4815-B Lee Highway is now open on Saturdays from 12-4 PM, in addition to our weekday hours of 11-6. As the holidays get closer I will be here 7 days a week, so if you need chocolates outside of our regular hours please call or send an e-mail, most likely I will be here. Also, we are trying to get most of our orders in early. So, we are offering a 5% discount on any orders for the holidays placed before December 9th. Last year we sold out of chocolate about a week before X-Mas, so we dont want that to happen again. Obviously, the discount is only on orders picked up or shipped after the 9th (basically the 2 weeks leading up to X-Mas Day). Keep in mind that our chocolates have a shelf life of about 2-3 weeks. We hope you all decide to use our chocolates for your holiday gift giving, parties, and of course general consumption. We will soon have our online ordering up and running, but for now if anyone would like to order chocolates please phone or send an email. Thanks to all for your support and I hope to see you all in the future. Regards, Jason BTW, if anyone saw the piece on FOX Morning News last week, the camera really does add 10 pounds...
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Artisan Confections is in need of an assistant to help me during the upcoming holiday season. No experience is necessary, but I am looking for a dedicated, hard-working right hand man/woman. Basically, as the holidays approach I will need help in many areas: making chocolates, boxing, ribbon-tying, helping with customers, deliveries, doing dishes, helping with classes, etc...If anyone is interested, or if they know anyone that may be interested, please PM me or send me an e-mail at jason@artisanconfections.com. This position will be part time to start, probably about 20-25 hrs per week. Compensation is TBD. I am looking to fill this position in the next few weeks so they can be up and running by Thanksgiving. Thanks. Jason
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Halloween - Giving Out Candy, and Scary-Monsters Turnout
Andelman replied to TSE's topic in Shopping and Cooking
I don't think I would let my daughter eat anything that wasnt wrapped. That being said, I made about 150 chocolates to give out to the adults tonight. So if anyone is in my hood...... -
Chocolate Making Class for dr.com members
Andelman replied to hillvalley's topic in Events and Gatherings
Many thanks to all of those that attended the classes, it was nice to meet everyone in person. I had a lot of fun and hopefully we can set up something again in the future. If anyone has any chocolate related questions please feel free to contact me via DR.com or by email at jason@artisanconfections.com. Big thanks also to Hillvalley for setting everything up. Regards, Jason -
[Jason Andelman, I hold you responsible for turning Mr P into a chocoholic. Until we went to your open house chocolate tasting the other week, he never gave much thought to the stuff. But he spent an hour hunting fine chocolates while I pored over my French phrasebook in Camelia Sinensis. And he reports that, good as the Montreal chocolates were, your's are better.] Thank you for the kind words, however, I am sorry I turned your husband into a chocoholic...I guess there are worse "holics" to be ....We actually were up in Montreal this past March for a chocolate business related trip. The enrobing machine that you saw in my shop was purchased from a French company who has a sales rep in Montreal. I went up there to meet with him and to use the machine firsthand before I purchased it. Anyway, we ate at many of the same places, Au Pied du Cochon (foie gras poutine, enough said) and Brunoise. We liked Brunoise, I think we felt like we were getting a good value for very good food. We also went to Chocolats de Chloe and Suite 88. I really liked Chloe, although my only beef was that she enrobes all of her chocolates with Valrhona Manjari which is a VERY strong, intense chocolate. It kind of overpowered most of the centers. Suite 88 was good, I liked the "sleek" look of the shop and enjoyed some of the pieces we bought from them. Actually, now that I think of it, I am surprised Chloe was open in the summer. She told us that she closes for a few months in the summer because it is relatively slow. I guess business must be good. Anyway, I really like Montreal and I think it is a great getaway weekend trip. Thanks gain for the compliments on the chocolates and we hope to see you back in the shop sometime soon.
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Atlarge- I sent you a PM, but I am not sure it worked. In any case, please contact me at jason@artisanconfections.com and I would be happy to share the details. Cheers, Jason
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Thanks to those of you that came out. We had a nice turnout and we were able to move through a fair amount of chocolates. We still have some left, so if anyone is in the area over the next day or so, please come by for some tasting. We will still be selling the sample pieces for $.50/piece, what a bargain....I will be open from 11-6. Cheers, Jason
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I guess I should clarify before people start showing up with insulated backpacks ready to fill up with chocolates. We will be tasting about 4-5 different chocolates in the store. We will have some small bags available for people to take a few chocolates home with them if they like. I am going to limit the "to-go' chocolates to 3 per person. We want to share the wealth as much as possible. The chocolates we will be tasting are new chocolates for the upcoming season. We will have a few varietal ganaches (85% and 64% Manjari), some sea salt caramels, and a new PB and J which I need feedback on. Basically it is a 2-layer chocolate. One layer is a strawberry pate de fruit and on top is a layer of peanut putter combined with honey, chocolate, and some crunch. All chocolates are enrobed with 61% bittersweet. Other chocolates include a lemon-hazelnut, fresh ginger, and a few pieces of homemade pecan marzipan. I hope that helps clarify things, i dont want anyone to leave dissapointed... Cheers, Jason
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I hope everyone is having a nice summer. Here at the shop I am trying to get ready for the upcoming season by working on new flavors for our signature bon-bons. I also got a new toy. It is a very nice enrobing machine (albeit small) which will enable me to produce more chocolates and an overall better product. Anyway, I just got the machine and have been testing and fine-tuning it for the last 2 days. Well, I now have about 750 pieces of fresh chocolates that need to be consumed. Since most of the chocolates are not perfect and since they are new flavors I have decided to give them away. So, for those of you not busy this weekend, we are having an open house/tasting at our shop this Saturday, August 12 from 2-4 PM. Please come by and check out our new store and have some free chocolates. Of course we have our regular items available for sale, but my main motivation for this open house is to give away all of the "less-than-perfect" chocolates I just made. If anything it is nice a cool in here and a good break from the heat (although I done think it is going to be too hot this weekend). So come by, check out or stuff, eat some chocolates, and take a few home for a late night snack. Just FYI, we are located at 4815-B Lee Highway in Arlington. The shop is between Glebe and George Mason. We are directly across the street from Cowboy Cafe and right next to a Subway. You can park in the lot next to Subway or next to Domino's Pizza. We are very close to Arrowine, Heidelberg Bakery, Pastries by Randolph, and some other great food destinations. Hope to see some of you on Saturday. Cheers, Jason
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Sushi_zen is not that good, IMO. Surprisingly, Oriental Gourmet is not that bad for typical American-Chinese. It is our "go-to" Chinese food joint when we need the mu-shi pork, sweet and sour whatever, General Tso's, etc, etc..... If you want some decent Salvadorean food there is Las Palmeiras Dos, on Lee Highway, across from Prestons Pharmacy. It is pretty cheap (if you get pupusas, tamales) and definitely filling. Not great, but certainly not bad.
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Here is what I can tell you. Artfully Chocolate will be a chocolate shop/art gallery which is owned by Eric Nelson (an artist in Del Ray). He will be carrying chocolates from Artisan Confections, Kingsbury Chocolates, and I think Mothers Macaroons (from Arlington). I believe he will also be selling some less fancy confections for the kiddies as well as some chocolate dipped fruit and beverages. It should be a great addition to Del Ray. I will keep you informed as more info comes my way...
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One night, many, many years ago my roommate was eating a piece of french toast. It just so happened that his bite pattern produced an image of Richard Nixons profile in the before mentioned piece of french toast (it REALLY looked like nixon, but I will admit that our room smelled like Otto's jacket ) So he had this great idea to open up a place in DC called Presidential Pancakes where all of the pancakes/french toast would look like the profile of one of previous presidents...So if anyone wants to invest....
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I recently read that they just gave some sort of "historical" status to the bulidings in that strip (I think it was Hard times and the British store) so that the original facades will stay. I dont know the whole story, but I would hate to see more development like the Barnes and Noble/Cheesecake Factory area. I think the agenda of Arlington County is to promote the small, individual business owner in spite of what you see going on up and down the Orange Line. It is sort of a Catch-22 situation, in that retail rent (and taxes) in Arlington County have skyrocketed making it almost impossible for the independent small business to afford space. Im sorry if this is completely off topic, but as a small businees owner in the county I need to vent my feelings on the subject. So, please go out and support places like Rays, Murky Coffee, Clare and Dons, and all the other folks who want to keep Arlington unique. Sorry for the soapbox.....
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Pete- Glad you enjoyed the chocolates. Actually, the salted butter caramel is made with crystal meth, not liquid crack like you thought(so for all you tweakers out there.....). Also, I like to add that the honey I use for the cinnamon-honey ganache comes from a local beekeeper on George Mason Dr. in Arlington. The guy has hives out near Winchester, VA, but he also has quite a few in his backyard. The honey is nice and what I would consider the definition of "local"....
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Had a very nice dinner last week at Poste. I think this is a restaurant that sort of flies under the radar maybe because of its location in a hotel. We had some really nice, tasty dishes including the already mentioned truffle frites. I had a nice green and white asparagus salad with some prosciutto and a poached egg. Everything was well seasoned and the asparagus was perfectly cooked. We also had the foie gras terrine (in a small crock) and the chicken liver mousse special. All in all, it was a really nice and somewhat affordable meal. It seems as if they have a nice patio for happy hour and bar snacks as well. For those of you who havent been, you should go. I really like this type of cooking, simple food, well prepared, and not fussed with too much. They also have a cool herb and vegetable garden on the patio that they utilize for some of their dishes. Anyway, thats enough....
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The shop is west of Glebe, so I guess that would be the Heidelberg side. Although we are on the other side of the street. We are directly across from Cowboy Cafe (1/2 price burgers all day on Tuesdays) and Ricks Tatoo. There is parking either next to Subway or next to Dominos. Hope that helps. Jason
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Hello All- I just wanted to let all of you know that Artisan Confections has now opened a small retail shop in North Arlington. It is located at 4815-B Lee Highway which is almost at the intersection of Glebe (in the same strip as Subway, Dominos and the Indian grocery). We are very close to Arrowine, Pastries by Randolph, and Heidelberg Bakery. I will be selling our signature bon-bons (all made with Valrhona chocolate) as well as some other confectionery products. I will also be selling Valrhona chocolate in bulk by the pound for all of your home baking needs. I have been selling boxed chocolates wholesale to various retail stores in the DC area for some time now and when the space became available it was hard to pass up. To be perfectly honest, I took the space mainly for the production aspect and the retail was more of an afterthought. Our summer hours will be somewhat limited (Mon-Fri, 11-6 PM), however, after Labor Day we plan on being open Saturday and maybe until 8:00 PM one night per week. If you are not familiar with the chocolates, please check out our website at www.artisanconfections.com Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions and please come by and check out our store. I look forward to any feedback you may have and I hope that Artisan Confections will become your first choice for fine chocolates in the DC area. Cheers, Jason
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I think Bill Buford wrote that book "Among the Thugs" which was about soccer hooligans in England in the 80's. If any of you out there are into soccer/football, its a good read. I will be sure to check this book out when it hits the shelves.
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Your best bet is to check out Periwinkle, which is on Livingston St. in NW DC. It is a small gift/chocolate shop just off Connecticut Ave., near Friendship Hts. They carry our chocolates by the piece, as well as by the box. Also, we have a 4-piece box that a few of the stores carry (Best Cellars in Arlington and The Winery in Old Town). Good Luck.
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Thank you. Of course, we are dissapointed we didnt actually "win" the tasting, but like someone else said "different strokes for different folks". I think that statement holds true to most food items, as it is a very subjective matter indeed. As for our chocolates, we hope you all try them out and make your own opinion.
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Shameless self-promotion here...I would like to put our chocolates into the mix.... Please check out our website for more info (www.artisanconfections.com) If anyone has any questions, fire away..... Thanks, Jason
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We ate there last week ( I think the day after they re-opened) and i felt the same way about the tablecloths. It does seem more formal now, and it seems as if they have actually removed tables from the dining room.... Our meal was excellent though and we had very good service as well. I had the wood roasted pigeon w/ some sort of cured pork (guanicale?) and mushrooms. One of the best dishes I have had in DC for some time. For the price point the place can not be beat... I wish there were more places like this in DC. A food-focused restaurant w/o any pretensions. They are all over Philadelphia in the form of BYOB's yet the concept has not really caught on here. Why is this? I am sure finances have a lot to do with it, as rents and taxes are most likely lower in Philadelphia than here...but this is another topic all together...Go to Komi, you won't be dissapointed...
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I feel as though I need to clarify something. Yes, there has been alot of Cakelove bashing on this board (and other food boards as well) and I think we can all agree that his products do not live up to the hype. However,I do have respect for Mr. Brown as a businessman. It is not easy to give up a steady paycheck to go into the low-margin baking business. Speaking somewhat from 1st hand experience (I left my food-related job in the summer to pursue my own project...) it is definitely difficult. What I have found is that the actual "food/product-making" part becomes secondary to the marketing. It is hard to earn a living if no one knows you are out there. To this I give props to Mr. Brown, he had a marketing scheme and went with it. I really want to like his place, believe me I do. I have spoken with him on the phone in the past and he seems nice and passionate about his business. I guess what bothers me is that there are places like The Swiss Bakery in Burke that produces high quality pastry, has an excellent pastry pedigree in their owners, yet it flies completely below the radar. I am sure its location has a lot to do with it and maybe the owners do not want any media attention, I can not say for sure. But as someone with a pastry background it irks me to see a business such as his prosper based on marketing alone. Believe me, I am constantly trying to make my product better. Is my product perfect? Absolutely not. Do I hope it to improve and get better? Of course. Will it ever be perfect? No. Thus the nature of food..... I feel as though I have strayed off topic here....I guess want I want to say that I have no problem with Cakelove as a businees, hey if the guy is making a living and he is happy with his product so be it and we can leave it at that. But I think he needs to take a closer look at what others are saying and make the proper adjustments. Like I said, I want to like the place, I like the idea of an independant bakery (a dying breed, BTW) and I like the idea of someone having a successful business. I just wish the product stood up to the hype. Sorry for the long post, just needed to get that off my chest...