The Chocolate War

Since vegan sensibility has made egg nog-passe (and you're always a little creeped out when you finish a glass of something with "egg" in the title), by default, hot chocolate is the undeniable drink of the yuletide this year.  But where does one go for the best?  It's a bit of a heated debate.  The contenders: Vosges Haut Chocolat and MarieBelle Fine Chocolates.  If the decision making becomes all too much, you can always rip open a packet of Swiss Miss and use the marshmallows at your discretion.  

Contender One: Vosges Haut Chocolat

132 Spring Street, also at 1100 Madison Avenue

Average Cup: $5.00

Located on Spring Street, Vosges is definitely the really intense aunt of the hot chocolate family.  One can find chocolate paired and combined with a number of odd foods, from curry to bacon and even with Jamaican beer.  Aside from its strange pairings, there is plainly delicious chocolate too, like Great Gatsby inspired truffles and a wide variety of the season's most fashionable drink, hot chocolate.  Their most popular: Bianca White Cocoa.  Other couture cocoa's include the Aztec (ancho, chipotle and cinnamon) and the Parisienne (vanilla bean).  Unfortunately, Vosges loses points in preparation: while the hot coco is light, delicious and well blended (perfect for pairing with a piece of haut chocolat) it is taken from Vosges' very own refrigerator and then warmed up by a quick blast of heat.  Delicious, still.  The place comes complete with a trendy interior and a hot chocolate bar.  Some locations even have in-store boutiques.   

Contender Two:  MarieBelle Fine Chocolates

484 Broome St

Average Cup: $6.00

This SoHo staple approaches chocolate in a much more traditional way.  If Vosges is your crazy aunt, MarieBelle's is your thirty-something cousin who enjoys Amelie a little too much and changes the flowers in her bathroom once a week.  On a good day, the hot chocolate will be made right before your eyes, but even when it's not, it never sees a refrigerator.  In addition to simple hot chocolate recipes, MarieBelle's offers a variety of Aztec inspired drinks (though not at all comparable to the intensity of Vosges).  Unlike the light and delicious hot coco at Vosges, MarieBelle makes hot chocolate like a meal.  It's thick and rich, nearer to pudding than any drink one might find at Haut Chocolat.  Sweet treats just as traditional are displayed to entice, as well.  MarieBelle's is the perfect place to take, say, your mother when she visits for the holidays.  Just don't let her know how much you're paying.