Marcie Blaine Chocolates
Verde is the newest shop by my two favorite Philly gals, Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran. Open House is my go-to spot for all gift-giving occasions, so a flower, home and chocolate emporium by the same team has to be good, right?
The shop is gorgeous. Go now. Try not to spend a fortune on flowers. The chocolates, however….
The packaging is lovely. The chocolates themselves are my preferred size — 2 to 3 small bites. The flavor selection was extremely tempting.
I got whiskey caramel, cardamom caramel, chai tea, raspberry, margarita, after dinner mint, cinnamon and chocolate, and … one more.
The chocolate shells were very nice — not too thick, not too thin, and with clearly differentiatable exteriors. No menu was provided, but they’ve only been open a few weeks, so they are probably still working on their final lineup.
The ganaches, though…. just lackluster. The chai tea was the standout, but not exceptional. The after dinner mint was fun, but if you’re going to do a twist on an Andes candy, there should be more of a twist. The caramels were both too liquidy, and one of them leaked. The others were fine. But not fine enough for $15/8 pieces.
As noted, they’ve only been open a few weeks, so I will certainly give them another shot in a few months. (In the name of science, of course.) But for now, la maison du chocolat still ships.
