Did you forget about Valentine's Day?

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Did you forget about Valentine's Day?

Don't worry. I have three chocolatey recommendations that could save the day.

Alan Pitotti, Pastry Chef at Dolce Patisserie (23 Main St Hellertown) has you covered. Just stop in and pick up some of the most beautiful chocolates you have ever seen and watch your loved one melt when they take a bite (if they dare - they are almost too pretty to eat. Almost).Dolce came highly recommended to me by my friend Tom, who told me that when he was on a feeding tube in the hospital, he fantasized about eating the French pastries at Dolce, and when he was well enough, that's exactly what he did. Wow.
Alan's a boomerang like me - he grew up in Pen Argyl, and graduated from Northampton
Community College's culinary arts program. He left the area to study at the Culinary Institute, specializing in baking and pastry, served as the assistant pastry chef at the Hotel Hershey, then worked at Philly's legendary French restaurant Le Bec Fin and Norman Love Confections in Fort Myers, FL, before coming home to the Lehigh Valley to open Dolce in 2008.
If you're closer to Bethlehem, stop in at Tallarico's Chocolates (17 E. Third St., South Side Bethlehem). You can always find metered street parking on the block. Brian and his parents will be there to welcome you. He's pre-packaged gift boxes for easy pick up, or you can select a mix that would be just right for your sweet-toothed sweetheart. To me, Brian's chocolate-covered Oreos (pictured below), "Kona Crunch" coffee and chocoate bites (pictured right), and dark chocolate-covered lemon snaps are just divine. Check out his collection of cigar-box guitars while you're inside the store! And if you dare - inquire about the novelty chocolates he can make for any occasion, including bachelorette parties! You won't see them in the display case. :)


When I want a fix of something special when I'm on Main Street in Bethlehem, I stop in at Chocolate Lab, at 446 Main Street, next to the Moravian Book Shop and across the street from Hotel Bethlehem. The owner, Arlene, helps me pick out a box of completely gorgeous, unique chocolates. From chocolate-covered marshmallows to chocolates that taste like Mounds if they were made fresh, she's got a wide variety of treats, many pre-packaged and ready to give. Or, you can just get a box, and a napkin, and hit the road.



(Don't they look like cupcakes?!)Happy Valentine's Day, all!