Chocolate Covered — Attraction in San Francisco

I was finally able to visit Chocolate Covered in search of a gift for my little niece who-- just like her aunt-- is a chocolate fiend! There's a cute handwritten sign at the door that says "Please come in, we're open, just cold!" so that told me enough about the shop's personality :) The owner is extremely kind for having been in this business for over 30 years without any air of pretentiousness or intimidation you might get from any other specialty goods shop-- he just loves chocolate and is very knowledgeable with all the varieties that he offers in the store. I also asked him what his favorite spiced chocolate was and he pulled out a box delivered from Santa Fe New Mexico and broke off a piece and shared it with me and a few other folks who were browsing. I immediately grabbed a bag and added to my purchase-- pistachio forward and warm the belly at the end. Overall, I had a really pleasant experience and the owner's passion is contagious. I asked if he happened to have a tin box with a certain name on it and he said yes we have that street! He explained that he handmakes all the tins you see on the wall with a cyanotype process, similar to sun printing but his method is in a more controlled setting to get the optimal image to appear and for great...

If you enjoy craft chocolate, or want to get into it, this is the place for you. He carries a superb selection of makers he likes for one reason or another - sometimes it's because of the maker's story (often, they're personally acquainted), or they're doing something unique with chocolate, or he just likes the packaging, but usually he says it's because he likes the way it tastes. I tend to agree, he carries basically all the makers I know of that take the science and art of making chocolate very seriously and produce excellent bars, and often has new ones for me to try. He carries a lot of local makers and (even very tiny scale) makers from all over the world. His prices are basically the same as anywhere online, which is more than fair considering his location is excellent. He also carries an excellent variety of locally made high-end truffles and...

My go-to chocolate shop in SF when I am low on my drug of choice and need a fix (chocolate of course!). The selections of chocolates is vast and Jack is constantly ordering new kinds and rearranging the shelves to fit it all in. For years, I walked by here and had no idea it was a chocolate shop. Always looked at the window display which only had the cyanotype boxes and never up at the sign until YEARS later. I'd been missing out! The chocolates may seem pricey to some, but with high quality chocolate such as the bean-to-bar types that he carries, there are no fillers and you just need a little taste to melt on your tongue to get the depth and richness of flavors. Not like waxy Hersheys or even Ghiradelli chocolates with lots of filler and less actual cocoa. These chocolates will leave you satisfied and definitely...