The mind hears the word “chocolate” and instantly freaks out. All rational thought gets tossed to the side when this classic candy enters the discussion. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, chocolate seems an obvious gift to give your significant other, or the love interest you creepily tagged in a “25 Random Things” Facebook note. But don’t run off and buy that special someone just any old chunk of chocolate wrapped in pink foil just yet. A walk down the CVS Valentine’s Day aisle reveals just how much chocolate is out there, and a lot of it isn’t very good. If you’re hoping to make V-Day memorable, you’re going to need to be a little more discerning.
To help make your Valentine’s shopping a little easier, we’ve sampled and reviewed 100 chocolates available in Evanston. The various chocolates, ranging from bars to ice creams to drinks, were eaten by several tasters (one of whom, yours truly, ate all 100. I now hate chocolate). Our reviewers assigned ratings between 1 and 10 (1 for the worst chocolate the taster has ever eaten, 10 for the best), and also wrote a quick sentence summing up the chocolate. This isn’t Top Chef, so don’t expect any in-depth analysis. We are here to tell you whether it tastes good or not.
Correction, Feb. 10 at 12:39: The original version of this article switched the photos for Tag’s Florentines, Bennison’s Rum Balls and Starbucks’ Chocolate Banana Cake.