Let’s Talk Chocolate

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

San Diego is home to a handful of established chocolatiers, and we’ve had our eye on two in particular recently:

Will Gustwiller of Eclipse Chocolate (www.eclipsechocolate.com) in South Park has introduced a “sprinkle bar” that allows patrons to craft and decorate their own sundaes in chocolate waffle bowls. The hands-on concept coincides with the cafe’s newly installed soft-service ice cream machine.

In the meantime, Kathryn Rogers of Maya Moon Co. plans to open Maya Moon Collective in North Park by the end of August. It will be her first retail shop since she began selling “chakra chocolate” sets online and to San Diego retailers over the past two years.

Similar to the concept at Eclipse, the cafe will present a menu of hot and cold “drinking chocolates,” plus savory dishes that are chocolate-inspired such as a salad drizzled in cocoa-pulp dressing.

Both businesses use sustainably sourced cocoa in their products, which include handcrafted chocolates that have won our hearts.