Eclipse Chocolate

My friend Nate at Eclipse Chocolate

A friend and I took a trip down to San Diego recently to see her nephew and his little family.  We were lucky enough to have a great lunch at a cafe called Eclipse Chocolate.

Now, any place that has the word chocolate in its name can't be bad!

And any place that has a chocolate happy hour... well, need I say more?

Chocolate Happy Hour Weekdays 4-7 p.m.

This place was fabulous!

The first thing I tried was the hot chocolate.

I ordered Burnt Chili Caramel Hot Chocolate.  I like things spicy!  I'm lactose intolerant, so I was overjoyed to be able to have it made with soy milk.

It came with homemade marshmallows!

Now, my only problem with the way they served it, is that the marshmallows melted against the side of the hot cup.  I ended up with marshmallow all over me.  Now, no one else in my party had this problem, so I think it was just ol' klutzy me!

Burnt Chili Caramel Hot Chocolate with marshmallows

This stuff nearly took my  breath away at first sip!  I had to hurriedly reach for my water glass.  However, as you kept sipping, it settled down to a lovely, spicy chocolaty goodness.

Once you've have chili hot chocolate, friends, you don't want to go back!  It's a delightful adult beverage.

If you want to try it at home, here's a recipe I found that may come close to what Eclipse serves up:

Chili Hot Chocolate

• 7 cups soy, skim, 2% or whole milk
•  1 vanilla bean, split, seeds removed and reserved
•  1 long red chili pepper, split
• 1 tablespoon chili flakes
•  1 cinnamon stick
• 12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
•  pinch salt

Garnish

• 1 cup whipped cream

Directions

1. Heat milk in a large pot over medium to low heat.
2. Add vanilla seeds, vanilla pod, chili, chili flakes, and cinnamon stick.
3. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon scraping bottom and sides of pot ensuring milk does not burn.
4. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Strain milk into another large pot and warm over medium to low heat.
6. Once milk mixture is hot, add chocolate in batches to pot, whisking to incorporate.
7. Season with a pinch of salt.
8. Ladle into mugs (Serves four)
9. Add a dollop of whipped cream before serving.

I can't wait to try this recipe!  However, I may wait until the weather cools off a bit.

Nobody Knows the Truffles I've seen...

I loved the shirts the wait staff wore!  They were really cute.  Our waitress kindly let me take her photo.  She was a real cutie.

As for lunch itself, I ordered a panini that came with homemade ciabbata bread and was filled with avocado, bacon and tomato.  It was served with a chocolate laced Dijon-style mustard.  Yummy!

Others in our party ordered Quiche.  It was made with a delightfully light puff pastry - a pleasant surprise!

Puff pastry quiche 

Finally, for dessert... a strawberry shortcake with puff pastry on the bottom, that was covered in real cream topped with fried basil and sea salt. 

There were ooohs and aaahs from everyone over this dessert.

Eclipse Chocolate is located in the South Park area of San Diego, California.  It's a small place with an emphasis on organic and healthy foods.  They make their own truffles.  They offer vegan dishes, and at least one gluten-free pastry.

Find them on the web at EclipseChocolate.com

All I can say is YUM.