Yeh, that's the truth about Sees. I was a bit surprised to see them in Festival Walk in suburban Hong Kong the other week. Their milk chocolate compressed honeycomb is a personal favorite and I love the chocolate egg thingies (though probably more for nostalgic reasons) but otherwise they are okay. Nothing special. But I think it needs to be considered that, first, most people won't spend $75 a pound or fly to Belgium for just chocolate, and second, See's is on the very good end of widely available corporate chocolate in the US.
That being said, I agree with many, many of the other opinions on this thread. Maison du Chocolat I get for mom now and then (yes, do overnight directly from the factory), the Belgian sellers of brands like Godiva are considerably better than the US and EU counterparts, and my favorite is the Neuhaus fresh creams. I always try to bring a box back when I visit Belgium, but they do have a shortish shelf life. I believe it's 2 weeks max and they can spoil if abused. I have many, many, many types of fresh creams (they are my favorites by far) and I think for the corporate places the Neuhaus are the best. Non FCs I just don't tend to bother much with. There is also a place in Belgium I dont think was mentioned called Wittamer that is very good and non-corporate. Had a friend one time that lived in Antwerp who felt it was the best in Belgium. Not so much my taste in particular, but it was very good nonetheless.
Went to the Ritz chocolate buffet with a friend and my better half last Christmas in Philadelphia which was lovely on many levels. Recommended. I expect it's similar to the Pen in Chicago that someone mentioned.
Finally, local joints are hit and miss for me. Some can be good and certain things but I find that there is a problem with consistency. Hard to find a small store good at many things. It's very easy, however, to find a small store bad at everything. There is a webpage called Eric's chocolate store review that I find interesting.
http://edp.org/chocolat.htm I found it some time ago and have tried some but not even close to all of the ones on the site. Money, time, and my waistband don't permit it.
Originally Posted by MDSD
See's:
While certainly not of the calibre of Maison du Chocolat, See's makes a very good product at a fairly moderate price. I would not do a mileage run to California for it, but I would never turn down a choice assortment, nor would I ever label it 'bad chocolate'.
See's does a phenomenal business (I only wish their shares were available to the public), so they've got to be doing something right for the chocoholics out there.