NYC - Christopher Norman Chocolates

Photo courtesy of Any Ten Blog

This is our Valentines tradition: I get flowers, he gets sweets. Awesome trade if you ask me.

2011 was our first Gluten Free Valentines Day, so I've been on the hunt for a few weeks looking for fancy gluten free chocolates in NYC.

I first called Jacques Torres, and they could neither confirm nor deny that there was gluten in their chocolates. Essentially, they had no clue so they wanted to cover their asses in case someone got sick.

Moving on, I called a couple other chocolate shops. The most I got from any one was that there was a limited selection of gluten free chocolate products.

And then, I happened upon Christopher Norman Chocolates via the blog Professor Chocolate (which is also I think the greatest idea for a blog EVER, a great way to indulge in chocolate non-stop). Professor Chocolate mentioned that Christopher Norman has many gluten free options, and in addition to having their products at Whole Foods, also has a store in the Financial District. Feeling unsure, I called them up. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Hi, I was wondering if you know if any of your chocolates are gluten free?
Phone Guy: Yes, of course.
Me: Wait, really?
Phone Guy: Yes. All of our chocolate truffles are gluten free.
Me: Wow! I'll be stopping in later then!

Don't you wish that more places answered that question like that? Usually the response I get is "Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, let me check" followed by a lot of whispering and a wishy-washy response not unlike Jacque Torres'.

And their chocolate treats did not disappoint! Turns out they do have 1 non-gluten free chocolate truffle, but that's not a big deal when there were so many others! And they were just what I wanted, those beautiful, artsy chocolates that you almost couldn't bear to eat. I got some more traditional flavors like raspberry, walnut, peanut butter, and champagne. And then I got a few more exotic choices like basil, cinnamon, and cherry rum. I wish I had known about this chocolate shop when I lived in that neighborhood!

Ladies, I highly recommend you adopting this tradition for not only Valentines Day, but for ALL holidays where a man is typically expected to get you flowers. First, you can (and should!) get a few chocolates for yourself to try, ya know, to make sure they're good quality and all. And second, men are very good at sharing. It's a win win situation.

Have you found other gluten free chocolate shops in NYC? Let me know!!