My favorites from BRU:

Galler, rue au Beurre 44 (aka Boterstraat), 1000 Bruxelles, 32.2.502.0266, just off the Grand Place. Try the Extrême, Chiba (very nice almond praliné), Thé Noir (Earl Grey Tea), Mazagran (heart-shaped coffee caramel), Turque (whiskey- and coffee-flavored cream), Martiniquais (ganache with rum & raisins), Anglaise (ganache with a little raspberry flavor (could be raspberry eau de vie)). Their chocolate bars can be bought in the U.S. ChocolateSource.com is one seller, and Trader Joe's has started selling their "Langues de Chat" in some stores. Oh, and you can also find the bars in the Bon Marche Dept. Store Food Hall in CDG. And Galler now has their own store in Versailles. But one word of caution: If you want an assortment with one of everything, do NOT trust the salespeople at the Grand Place when they say the half-kilo box has one of everything.

Pierre Marcolini. Charlotte (SJC (while living/working in BRU)) sent me this bit on 29AUG00: "I wanted to update you on the BEST chocolate place I've found in Brussels. Pierre Marcolini on the Grand Sablon makes divine chocolates and pastries. He was voted "world champion patisserie" in 1995 and his chocolate making has set new standards and even spawned a new school of praline making. Each of his chocolates are delicately flavored -- some infused with the essences of tea, jasmine, lavendar (sic), or citrus. All of his pralines are perfectly balanced -- not too sweet and with a texture that just melts in your mouth (and sometimes in the bag on your way home)." I happily discovered in early OCT00 that they were every bit as good as Charlotte's description! DEFINITELY try the Violet piece and their diamond-shaped, dark-chocolate-covered praliné. Marcolini is probably 40% more expensive than Galler. I think Galler does certain pieces better than Marcolini (like the Earl Grey tea piece), but Marcolini does amazing caramels which beat everyone else except Wittamer. Locations: Place du Grand Sablon, 39, 02.514.12.06, Fax: 511.33.21; Avenue Louise, 75M, 02.538.42.24, F: 538.08.61; (Stockel) Avenue de Hinnisdael, 14, 02.771.27.20, F: 770.37.89; (Fort-Jaco) Chaussee de Waterloo, 1302, 02.372.15.11, F: 372.15.39; and Huidevettersstraat 38-40 in Antwerpen, 03.226.50.01, F: 02.213.05.60

Wittamer is across the Sablon from Marcolini. According to a woman at Wittamer, Marcolini learned much of what he knows at Wittamer and then left. Both of these chocolatiers are extremely close to each other's quality levels. I along with their very competitive caramels, their hazelnut pralinés are excellent and they had a pistachio cream piece which was quite unusual.

Neuhaus favorites: Pagode, Astrid, Caprice, Tentation (probably tops my list from Neuhaus), Prestige, Ephemere (you can compare these last two to Marcolini's caramels, but Marcolini and Wittamer would almost undoubtedly win), Bonaparte, Satan, Sapho, Eden Rock Lait, and Black & White. AND you can get Neuhaus at AMS on your way to the plane!

I liked the chocolates from Mary, but ordering there is a pain in the a$$ since they don't have a key and the chocolates are not labeled.

I used to be able to say I really liked Godiva in Belgium but not the U.S., but now I'm not sure I like either. Last trip (JAN04), we tried about six pieces from the shop at the Grand Place, and not only did we not want to feature any of them in the chocolate tasting I was doing after returning to work, I actually spit out two or three of them. How the mighty can fall...

I find Maison du Chocolat too expensive even in CDG.

I wouldn't even pay $24/pound for Leonidas. They do have one piece I like, though, filled with Advokaat, an egg liqueur, but that is probably not in the US stores...

I will definitely think about going to "Chocolate at the Pen" the next time I can get a $113 RT from DCA-CHI!

And my final $.02: Freeze your stash! I put a half-kilo assortment in a freezer bag, squeeze (or suck) the air out, seal it and put it in another freezer bag. Take it out of the freezer and leave at (coolish) room temperature for six or seven hours before unsealing. I've kept them up to five months, and they've tasted like new.


And from the What is your favorite brand of chocolate??? thread on OMNI:

I quite agree! In fact, one of my "test" questions is whether someone prefers dark, milk, or white - dark or all of the above are acceptable, but white?! It definitely won't work... I think the answer says something about his intensity level / capacity for intensity.