Christopher Elbow Chocolates

Christopher Elbow opened his own chocolate store in Kansas City in 2003, after working in the pastry department of Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico Steakhouse in Las Vegas, and his chocolates carry a brightness that comes from careful tempering. The Fleur de Sel pairs a speckled dark chocolate shell and French sea salt with a milky caramel that spills out at the first bite, the Rosemary truffle is infused with the fresh herb, and the champagne truffle holds a milk chocolate ganache blended with French champagne. Order the Fleur de Sel.

Picks from Kansas City Magazine and KCUR 89.3

Christopher Elbow works from a Crossroads shop on McGee Street, and The Pitch ranked its hot chocolate first in the city in 2009, describing a cup nearly thick enough to hold a spoon upright and rich enough to split with someone. The paper's 2014 tour singled out the ginger drinking chocolate, whose tang cuts a sweet chocolate and caramel base, and the house marshmallows, denser and sweeter than the store bought kind. KCUR's Charles Ferruzza lists cocoa noir, peppermint, Venezuelan spice and mocha. Order the ginger, with the marshmallows.

Picks from The Pitch, IN Kansas City, and KCUR