Chocolate. Hazelnut. Street Waffles. Are you hooked?

Excellent! Let me tell you about one of my most treasured recent foodie finds: Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates. Although I have never met the master chocolatière personally, I am certain that Ginger is exactly my kind of person. She finds “the sheen of tempered chocolate… quite elegant” and has "a curiosity and openness" concerning all things chocolate that I can totally get behind.

Her shop is nestled in the heart of the Handle District in Sacramento, amongst an appetizing abundance of quality restaurants. Her glistening white boutique welcomes you in with a hearty cocoa aroma to admire a counter beautifully lined with bonbons, macarons, miniature cakes, and a small set of cookies. I usually leave this chocolatier’s haven with a delightful pouch of assorted goodies, but this past Saturday I was in line in front of the shop 20 minutes before opening for a tremendous celebration: Street Waffle Day! 

For this special occasion Ginger Elizabeth was baking up fluffy waffles and garnishing them with either one of her specialty jams or her luscious chocolate hazelnut spread, a dollop of crème fraîche, and a light dusting of powdered sugar. Sheer bliss! After polishing off my waffle I shamelessly (and indulgently) marched back into the store, lips lined with chocolate and blouse dotted with powdered sugar, to grab a perfect chocolate chip and truffle cookie to go.    

I'm looking forward to stopping by on August 10th for Ginger Elizabeth's Ice Cream Social and again (yes, twice in one month!) on August 17th for a Jennie Schacht's  I Scream Sandwich book signing and sweet sampler sandwiches inspired by the book.