Really like the flourless chocolate cake with Sea Salt they serve at Commissary. Chocolate salted caramel cake at Republique is decadent and awesome too.
Anything chocolate? That is a broad net to cast ! I lean towards lighter, milk chocolate flavors, I am a big fan of Leonides pralines for example, even though I can appreciate nuances of dark chocolate too. IMHO the best “chocolates” in LA are made by Valerie Confections. Her toffees, which are the first chocolates she created, are really special. (I also respect her use of local ingredients in her other products, her apricot jam is sublime, and that she researched and has recreated historical cakes that were popular in Los Angeles past, such as her version of Brown Derby’s Grapefruit Cake.)
I prefer to go to her original location in Korea Town, best selection, and always a generous sample tray !!! Yum.
Oh, ciaolette, you’ve touched a sore spot! Leonidas is my wife’s very favorite chocolate. When we moved to Santa Monica, there was a Leonidas store within walking distance. It closed, and the space was taken by what we still call “the evil Jamba Juice”. We order online from New York once a year. We curse the evil JJ every time we walk past it.
+1. I don’t know if Valerie is “the best”, but certainly amazing. We got a box of mixed chocolates @ work from Valerie and I LOVED the couple of pieces I tried. The toffee—great (although a different texture and consistency than Little John’s—which is high on my toffee list) and the caramel was very very good.
Amedei Chuao or Porcelana - especially when it was the “buy 1 get 1 free” on your birthday at my local shop in SF…though they changed the policy later.
Best Chocolate in L.A. : At Casa J_L, with my secret stash of Pierre Marcolini from Belgium… A distant second is a tie between the “loose-shard” chocolat chaud from Leonidas, and the decadent chocolate truffles of Yvan Valentin (you can purchase some at Wally’s Cheesebox).