Los Angeles, CAChocolatiers and Candy Shops

See's Candies, the Los Angeles candy maker founded in 1921 by Charles See, his mother Mary and his wife Florence, still keeps its flagship shop and factory on La Cienega Boulevard. Visitors come for the samples and leave with a box of hand-picked truffles and fudge, and the chocolate goes into pieces packed with almonds, around coffee-flavored toffee and over fluffy marshmallows. Order a hand-picked box of truffles and fudge, with the coffee toffee.

Edelweiss Chocolates has hand-crafted truffles, fudge, nut clusters and more since 1942 in the factory behind its Beverly Hills shop, close enough that a sweet aroma meets you at the door. The shop keeps to the basics, with no fancy decorated chocolates, and the old-fashioned Swiss truffle is its standard. Order a Swiss truffle, with fudge or a nut cluster alongside.

andSons Chocolatiers is a family-run chocolate shop and cafe in Beverly Hills, in the former home of Teuscher, the Swiss chocolate shop, now run by Marc and Phil Covitz, the sons of the original owner. Their signature bonbons put a global twist on traditional European ganache, in flavors such as passion fruit caramel and double yuzu, and the shop still carries the old shop's truffles along with salted caramels and chocolate-covered orange peels. Order a box of the bonbons.

Lady Chocolatt is a tiny chocolate shop and cafe on Wilshire Boulevard, partnered with a master chocolatier in Belgium, that specializes in classic European chocolates made with organic, fair trade chocolate. Fillings run from praline, ganache and marzipan to ginger and chili, sold by weight so customers can build their own ballotin box or take a pre-made assortment, and the cafe pours hot chocolate and coffee beside a small patio. Order a ballotin with the praline and marzipan.

Milla Chocolates makes bars and individual chocolates with a modern look: angular truffles and bonbons, and honeycomb-patterned bars finished with gold dust, flowers and hibiscus tea salt. The shop in Palms is just as sleek, with rows of jarred bonbons lit up along the wall, and it pours espresso and black sesame iced chocolate to go with them. Order a box of the bonbons and a honeycomb bar.