Cozy Up to Hot Chocolate in Chicago
The best way to combat below-freezing temperatures in Chicago is with a piping hot, rich-as-fudge cup of hot chocolate. Fortunately, Chicago is a city brimming with decadent hot chocolate, from the traditional to the boozy to the outré (Chartreuse hot chocolate, anyone?).
When it comes to hot chocolate, it doesn’t get any richer than the drinking chocolate at Katherine Anne Confections. This stuff is seriously rich, more akin to a melted cake than your standard hot cocoa. As thick and intense as it is, you’ll have a hard time not polishing off a whole mug, especially when options like pumpkin hot chocolate and white chocolate-chai hot chocolate are on the table. Each cup is topped with two pillowy, saccharine marshmallows, available in flavors such as peppermint and cinnamon sugar. There’s even a perfectly apropos hot chocolate marshmallow made with cayenne, habanero, and cocoa powder.
Another place pouring serious diligence into their hot chocolate is the aptly named HotChocolate. The venerable dessert destination peddles a masterful roster of regular flavors such as Mexican hot chocolate, medium hot chocolate infused with a hint of caramel, and black and tan made with hot fudge. New to the lineup for December is eggnog hot chocolate, lush with French white chocolate, caramelized white chocolate, nutmeg, vanilla, and a dash of orange.
Angel Food Bakery has developed notoriety for its annual Barthelona hot chocolate, a pudding-thick medley of chocolate and ooey gooey marshmallows.
Hot chocolate takes an intoxicating turn at Table, Donkey and Stick. Here, hot chocolate is infused with Chartreuse, a variation on the "verte chaud," an essential ski resort warmer in the French Alps. Table, Donkey and Stick makes theirs with milk, cream, Tcho fair-trade dark chocolate, and Green Chartreuse. It's topped off with Chartreuse-infused marshmallows, torched to-order. The best part is you don't have to jettison yourself down a slippery mountain to acquire it.
Another stellar rendition of boozy hot chocolate can be found at Stetsons Modern Steak + Sushi, wherein cocoa plays a vital role in Santa’s Secret cocktail. Comprised of Amarula Cream Liqueur, warm chocolate milk, Fireball cinnamon whiskey, and Hum Botanical Spirit, we can see why Santa would want to keep this naughty little secret from Mrs. Claus.
For those who want to take some hot chocolate home, Southport Grocery & Cafe has you covered. The cafe’s housemade hot chocolate mix is the perfect pantry staple this time of year, featuring a delicately sweet mixture of sugar and cocoa powder. Pick up a pack of housemade vanilla-scented marshmallows while you’re at it.
Then there’s the frothed-to-order Parisian-style hot chocolate at Firecakes Donuts. Belgian bittersweet chocolate lays the framework for a killer cup of cocoa, made with organic milk, vanilla, cane sugar, and a housemade Tahitian vanilla bean marshmallow.
Katherine Anne Confections
2745 W Armitage Avenue, Chicago
(773) 245-1630
Website
HotChocolate
1747 N Damen Avenue, Chicago
(773) 489-1747
Website
Angel Food Bakery
1636 W Montrose Avenue, Chicago
(773) 728-1512
Website
Table, Donkey and Stick
2728 W Armitage Avenue, Chicago
(773) 486-8525
Website
Stetsons Modern Steak + Sushi
151 E Wacker Drive, Chicago
(312) 239-4491
Website
Southport Grocery & Cafe
3552 N Southport Avenue, Chicago
(773) 665-0100
Website
Firecakes Donuts
68 W Hubbard Street, Chicago
(312) 329-6500
Website
