Here are some suggested treats for you and your valentine.
Artisan chocolate
Thomas Simons sells chocolate bars, drinking chocolate, chocolate baking products and cacao nibs through Atlanta-based Lewis Pogue Artisan Chocolate. Simons imports cacao from a half-dozen countries, handmakes each bar and the drinking chocolate, and then labels each item with its country of origin and tasting notes. We enjoyed the 65 percent dark chocolate with cardamom (reportedly a customer favorite) and the 72 percent dark chocolate with honeycomb crunch. When selecting for your valentine, you can choose from dark and milk chocolate, decide on inclusions (or not), and check the tasting notes to decide what will be the best match.
$9.75 to $12.50 for 2-ounce chocolate bars, $12.50 per 170-gram canister of cacao nibs and $16.50 for a 227-gram canister of drinking chocolate. Available at the Avondale Estates Farmers Market, Cool Beans Coffee Roasters, the Local Exchange, Summit Coffee and lewispogue.com.
Credit: Niki Gavahi
Credit: Niki Gavahi
Persian pastries
The beautiful Persian pastries, ice cream and specialty breads Niki Gavahi sells through Knead to Savor were inspired by time she spent in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother. The shapes may look familiar, but the flavors of cardamom and rosewater immediately let you know that these are no ordinary treats. Gavahi offers more than a dozen items — from Persian flatbread to apple-custard cream cake — but she suggests you treat your valentine to baklava filled with walnuts and pistachios, baklava cake made with almonds and pistachios or chocolate-pistachio cake, garnished with chopped pistachios and edible dried rose petals. Everything is made to order, so nut allergies can be accommodated. Your order will be ready the following day for pickup at the Decatur kitchen or for delivery.
$10 for four pieces of baklava, $28 for a 9-inch baklava cake, $45 for a chocolate-pistachio cake. Order at kneadtosavor.com.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Mocktails
New Orleans mixologist Jesse Carr offers four flavors of Mockly canned mocktails that stand on their own, rather than imitating boozy cocktails. For Valentine’s Day, you might try Love Bite, which has a brightness that comes from a mix of pomegranate and ginger. Drink it as it comes in the can or mix it, as we did, with a little fresh lime and orange juice. We also tried the new lower-sugar Madame L’Orange, and fell in love with Baron Von Blue, with its combination of blueberry, rose, mint and lime.
Starting at $13.99 per four-pack of 12-ounce cans. Available at Tower Beer & Wine, the Zero Co., Grant Park Market, Amazon and drinkmockly.com.
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