Box Chocolate Review

La Maison du Chocolat (LMDC), owned by the esteemed Robert Linxe, is venerated for being at or near the pinnacle of boxed chocolate. That self-anointed premiere tasting-club in the world - The Croqueurs of Paris - declare him non-pareil.

His parlor in Manhattan sits on Madison Ave. A curious place – extremely refined design – but the store doesn’t smell like chocolate. LMDC-NYC delivers quality, in some cases very good &, in a few others, exceptional. But the 5-star, made-in-heaven, serious-nirvana accolades makes one wonder whether chocolate, like particular violins, travel poorly across the Atlantic, or if the Croqs are just a little too ‘ooo-la-la’ about themselves. Either way, the taste-facts are indisputable: LMDC-NYC is French for ‘house-of-cards’.

Hype wins out, as reputation exceeds performance. Flavors tend to stack & stratify in weak verticals, especially berry notes which come ashore in diluted waves. Ditto coffee/mocha combinations, which build slowly into heightening mysteries before dissipating any inner secrets. The total effect: a phantom-in-the-candy-store, an occasional outline with no viscera; finesse without power, a pillowy fade-out, then vacant elegance.

The French are world-famous for perfumes, bouquets, & interrelations rather than things in-&-of themselves. Lest you think LMDC-NYC fits that tradition, ala a dauphin appearing majestic at the expense of someone else’s heroics (la mode Francaise), consider the possibility that LMDC-Paris reportedly flash-freezes their pieces prior to shipping to NY.

Buy a plane ticket, or use your miles, & go directly to where the HQ produces super-subtle, teasing balances fully in frame.

Ahhh, pure Bacchus.

FULL REVIEW UNWARRANTED