Bon Appetit, Y'all!

 Go ahead and say it - Chocolate Lounge.  Doesn't that just

conjure up lovely visions in your mind?   Travis has been talking

about taking me here since we began our little culinary

adventure at the beginning of the year.  I was okay with just

having chocolate for lunch (probably not the best idea for

a diabetic) - but he decided that it might be nice to check out Bouchon and 

have a little French lunch before we indulged in our chocolate. 

 That boy is so smart!

The Creperie Bouchon claims to be the "Best Crepe Secret"

in town.  How clever is that?  It's located in a courtyard off

of Lexington Avenue and it's definitely hidden.  If you don't have

a date who knows where it is - you might have to ask someone. 

It's always hard for me to make up my mind, because I get so

caught up in the atmosphere of a restaurant.  I just wanted to

walk around and look at everything.

I watched this guy make crepes and decided that was what I 

had to have - but which one?

Travis suggested the Farm to Table so I went with that and man

was I glad I did.  Caramelized onion, fresh mushrooms and

goat cheese.  It was really good.

Travis chose the Le Croque Bouchon - a croque monsieur topped

with a pan fried sunny side up egg, served up with Frites.

And let me tell you, those Frites tossed with herbs de Province

were tasty.  We sat outside in the courtyard and I felt quite French.

They had wonderful dessert crepes on their menu - but we already

had our dessert plans made! Dessert was the main event.

 We walked a couple of blocks to the Chocolate Lounge.  

 To say that I was excited, is probably an understatement. 

 I have recently learned that I am a chocophile. When I say

recently, I mean I just recently learned there was a word 

for my chocolate addiction. I've always known I was a 

  "lover of chocolate."

  At the chocolate lounge, they make artisan chocolates 

as well as chocolate desserts. They also have an amazing

selection of chocolate bars made from chocolate that has been

sourced worldwide.  If you think all chocolate tastes the same,

you really need to take a little field trip to the Chocolate Lounge 

and sample some different varieties.  My favorite as of late has

been a dark chocolate with sea salt blend.  The thing I love 

about good chocolate- a couple of small squares satisifies.

Since I have to ration my sweets, that is a good thing and 

since some of these bars can cost up to $12 each (not kidding)

a bar of good chocolate can be shared with several people or

you can eat a little and then save some for the next day,

and the next.  If your disciplined, you could eat a square

each day and you would have chocolate all week.

It is proven that dark chocolate has health benefits,

so eat that square guilt free!

Look at these beautiful , handmade chocolates.  Notice the signs

indicating the origin of the chocolate.

Love these!!!  Aren't they adorable peanut butter cups?

The brownies looked amazing.  I bought a chocolate macaroon

brownie to take home to Mark and he said it was fabulous.

 This chocolate layer cake caught my eye.  Three layers of devils food cake

sandwiched with whipped ganache, cloaked in a dark chocolate

glaze and covered with dark chocolate curls.

I wasn't turning this down.  Travis and I decided to get a slice

of this and a chocolate blackberry mousse and share.

Absolute decadence.  We couldn't eat it all- but we wanted to.

I'm not sure if it is a good thing that I now know about the

Chocolate Lounge.  At least it is in downtown Asheville, so 

going there would be an event, not someplace I just happen to

drop by.  But if anyone has an event they want to celebrate,

I would be glad to introduce you to the Chocolate Lounge.  You

will probably need someone with which to share and I am 

really good at sharing :)

* Goal #40 - Try new restaurant each month in Asheville with Travis