The media is talking about The Chocolate Room! See what they're saying in New York Magazine, The Food Network, Zagat, the blogosphere, and more!
PRESS
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2013
DNA Info gives a nice shout out for our Tasting and Bake-Off on April 27th.
Sarah Shaker at CBS NY recommends our special Valentine's Day 2-course chocolate tasting.
This new NYC travel guide recently created a profile of our two cafés.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2012
The folks at Barclays Center TV came by and made a video about our passion for chocolate. You can watch it on the big screen at the arena or right here on computer.
As the days get colder, this popular blog recommends our delicious hot chocolates.
It's fall and CBS New York gives our Bourbon Vanilla Hot Cocoa a nice shout out. Read.
"Based on the ambiance and customer service alone, The Chocolate Room is an overall adorable place to catch up with a good friend..." Read more.
Examples from Frans Johansson's latest book, The Click Moment, include TCR's story of its relentless quest for perfection. "For Johansson, [our] passion is the ultimate metric of potential."
HuffPo contributor Jill Knapp explains why if you're "a fan of coffee, chocolate, and of course cupcakes, then [TCR] is the place for you."
Everybody loves TCR's world-famous three-layer chocolate blackout cake, but few know its illustrious history. Capital New York's Leah Koenig tells all and provides a recipe.
It's official! The city of New York loves our "deliciously indulgent boutique and dessert café." Read the rave here.
TCR's homemade ice cream gets a nice shout out from this local news website.
Menswear designer Marlon Gobel loves our classic hot chocolate, while his mother is "addicted" to our spiced dark hot chocolate. Read more here.
See some mouth-watering photos of our "divine" flourless mini chocolate cakes and other treats dished up at Brooklyn Uncorked here.
NYC roaster, Dallis Bros., already is nostalgic for our Flourless Madagascar Chocolate Cake, which we dished up for Brooklyn Uncorked 2012.
Vivere New York's Laura made a video (in Italian) about our awesome frozen hot chocolate. View it here.
“If you like Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, then [TCR's] is the one by which all others should be judged. It is the standard they all wish to rise to. If you don’t like Mint Chocolate Chip, we can’t be friends.” Read.
It was a dairylicious evening in SoHo and Edible Brooklyn has lots of photos and a rave for our Mint Chip ice cream. Read here.
Country singer and songwriter Risa Binder gets profiled and shares her love for The Chocolate Room. Also, check out this video, where she sings the e title track from her from her most recent CD, Paper Heart, at our Cobble Hill cafe.
NYSD's Erin Frankel reviewed some of her favorite dishes, including TCR cupcakes and S'mores, at Tasting Brooklyn. Read here.
If you missed the delicious Tasting Brooklyn event last Wednesday evening, you can sample some of the winning dishes (photos), including our mini chocolate cupcakes, here.
The drummer for the legendary Ramones lives in downtown Brooklyn and recommends TCR for an espresso and a chocolate cupcake before or after a movie. Read.
The drummer for the legendary Ramones lives in downtown Brooklyn and recommends TCR for an espresso and a chocolate cupcake before or after a movie. Read.
WSJ profiles singer-songwriter Risa Binder, who lives near our café in Cobble Hill and loves our signature Black Bottom Butterscotch. Read.
"Ben and I decided to split the black bottom butterscotch custard, one of the signature options. Dark chocolate hides beneath that delicious custard, which was amazing. What sold us, though, was the coconut whipped cream on top. Ben and I rarely say no to coconut, and it went wonderfully with the rest of the dessert." Read more.
TCR's unique "anatomically correct" heart shaped cookies were included in this local AOL blog about Valentine's Day treats. Read.
One of our special Valentine's Day treats, Knipschildt's Strawberry Hazelnut Bark, gets a shout out from this chocolate-loving blog. Read.
In honor of National Chocolate Cake Day, January 27th, Christopher Winfield over at City Maps put together a list of NYC's 5 best chocolate cakes. Read.
"if you already have a chocolate addiction problem, The Chocolate Room will sink you deeper into a pool of delicious...." Read more.
Fashion blogger Stephanie M. visited TCR. Read.
The Chocolate Room is a "winning combination..." Read more.
TCR's "Chai Latte, made with Harney & Son’s chai tea and steamed milk, does the trick, especially when spiked with California’s Desiree Chocolate Port..." Read more.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2011
NearSay reviewer Kailin Sansoucie tasted the magic at TCR. Read.
Everyone knows chocolate not only makes you happy but can cure the blues , including Brooklyn blogger Caitlin Heikkila who writes, "[The Chocolate Room is] my go to cure for sadness..." Read more.
"We love it for: the spiced dark hot cocoa…" Read more.
"Designed to satisfy all hot chocolate lovers with 8 ozs of our three varieties of hot cocoa mix…" Read more.
Janelle Andrea writes: "I love anything with pumpkin ice cream, so I ordered the special of the night - which included the seasonal treat, along with a chocolate pecan tart. The pecan tart was delicious! It wasn't overly sweet, but still indulgent." Read more.
"I am confident that I’m not overhyping the chocolate layer cake at The Chocolate Room in Cobble Hill when I say it is the best in NYC." Read more.
TCR gets a shout out for its special orders, in particular our 9" Chocolate Pecan Pie which is perfect for Thanksgiving. Read.
"I love The Chocolate Room. I want to sit there all day and just breathe the air. ***fierce inhale without exhaling*** Aahhh!" Read more.
"The Chocolate Room offered a particularly delicious bittersweet cinnamon hot chocolate spiked with ancho and chipotle, just the thing for a rainy afternoon. Another of their treats, spiced caramel-coated, chocolate-drizzled popcorn, was completely addictive: sweet and salty with a fiery kick." Read more.
"Brooklyn restaurants that placed tops in their categories included Fette Sau for barbecue; The Chocolate Room for dessert..." Read more.
CBS loves our Bourbon Vanilla Hot Cocoa! Read the article.
"The Chocolate Room’s chocolate layer cake was one of the best we’ve ever tasted—all it needed was a glass of milk to wash it down!" See photos and read article.
Man vs. Food's Adam Richman will host Edible Brooklyn's Saturday evening event. Read.
It's true. Chocolate and sex are linked! "I am out to lunch with the baby and my mom at Alchemy in Park Slope and we walk by the Chocolate Room. We buy a few truffles and I get a jar of fudge sauce with devilish intentions..." Read more.
"There’s no better place to indulge in steaming liquid hot chocolate like the appropriately named Chocolate Room in Brooklyn’s Park Slope..." Read more.
We were picked as Cobble Hill's best dessert café. "This little shop has dozens of hand-made delicate little chocolates to nibble on with your coffee. An elegant, French patisserie-style dining room with floor-to-ceiling glass overlooking the back gardens of the adjacent apartments makes this a sunny, cheerful place to relax while satisfying your sweet tooth..." Read more.
"I couldn't tell you a single thing on the Chocolate Room's menu...mostly because every time I go there I just close my eyes, look at the menu and point..." Read more.
"At The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, the entire menu is devoted to chocolate..." Watch the episode (TCR appears 10:40 in). And if you'd like to learn how to make our world-famous layered chocolate cake, find the recipe here.
"Your number one lady loves chocolate. End the day on a sweet note with a butterscotch custard, a decadent brownie sundae, or — to keep the party going — a scoop of ice cream covered with cocoa nibs and paired with a glass of chocolate port." Read more.
"The Chocolate Room's Chocolate Caramel Popcorn: Not overly sweet, this munchable treat was drizzled in rich chocolate, handed out in brown paper bags, and astoundingly easy to eat in under 45 seconds..." Read more.
"Among the dessert options, you can’t go wrong with chocolate truffles and chocolate drizzled caramel popcorn from, of course, the Chocolate Room." Read more. And come see us at Tasting Brooklyn on April 5th.
"I think I was momentarily in heaven at The Chocolate Room. We weren't completely satisfied with dinner, so Shaun made an executive decision to stop at The Chocolate Room for dessert and boy did it turn a frown upside down!" Read more.
"Regular readers of this blog may already know that I have a teeny tiny obsession with chocolate.
Ok, it’s a pretty huge obsession.
So it comes as no surprise that one of my favorite places to eat in New York City is the Chocolate Room. Why do I love the Chocolate Room so? Ah, let me count the ways..." Read more.
"The Chocolate Chip Almond cake was delicious! The chocolate was rich and the cake was light so it was a match made in heaven...." Read more.
"If you’ve ever entertained the thought of doing a dessert bar crawl, Brooklyn has a seductive assortment of sweet spots worth an outer borough trip..." Read more.
"Owners Jon Payson and Naomi Josepher have always shared a love of chocolate..." Read more.
Laura, an expat from Italy who now lives in Manhattan, blogs (in Italian) about her romantic visit to TCR Cobble Hill.
"It is pretty much a given that you must order hot chocolate when the snow is falling and you are at a place called “The Chocolate Room.” Oh, and please do order a homemade marshmallow to swim in your hot chocolate. The Chocolate Room also has a hot chocolate with a shot of espresso in it. It is called a Cafe Torino. My eyes just got a little brighter thinking about it..." Read more.
Janelle Andrea writes: "I love anything with pumpkin ice cream, so I ordered the special of the night - which included the seasonal treat, along with a chocolate pecan tart. The pecan tart was delicious! It wasn't overly sweet, but still indulgent." Read more.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2010
The Chocolate Room is a great place for a family hot chocolate break. Read more.
"At The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, chocolate features prominently in only one of my favorite desserts—their Chocolate Cake. But my other favorite is the Black Bottom Butterscotch Custard..." Read more.
"For National Chocolate Day, I decided to celebrate at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn!" Read more.
"Did I just die and go to heaven? Yes this brownie sundae really is that good..." Read more.
"I went on tons of dates here. It's every girl's dream—chocolate, coffee and wine..." Read more.
"Chocolate, at least in Park Slope, seems recession-proof.
While everything from thrift stores to gourmet pet food shops have closed in the past couple months, two dessert palaces,The Chocolate Room and The Cocoa Bar, haven’t had a problem navigating through the economic low tide..." Read more.
"Three layers of dark chocolate cake, consistently moist, with an even, delicate crumb. It's inconspicuously tender and soft, a melt-in-your mouth type of cake..." Read more.
"This dessert café and chocolate shop is the perfect place to park your rear (and maybe inadvertently expand it)..." Read more.
"... or if you just want to pass up dinner altogether for some serious sweet-tooth snacking, this is your place – a chocolate covered cloud nine..." Read more.
Amy Virshup from the NYT recommends our homemade chocolate caramel popcorn. Read more.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2009
"That cake by the way, is probably the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. The texture, moisture, level of sweetness. It took a year for them to perfect it! ..." Read more and watch the video.
"Enter The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood and you will enter into the realized dream of Naomi and Jon..." Read more.
Top Choice Awards is pleased to announce that Chocolate Room is the 2009 Top Choice Award recipient in the category of Dessert Cuisine for Brooklyn, NY.
The results were collected during the EnterVote.com 2008 International Restaurant, Nightlife, Hotel and Attraction Survey, which identified 2997 winners around the world. See the results online at: http://www.entervote.com/results/international/rnha-2008
Top Choice Awards is an important institution for the local and international business scene, recognized by the Government for its meaningful awards. The organization conducts democratic surveys, in multicultural cities around the globe, with the singular purpose of identifying and promoting businesses and professionals who have distinguished themselves amongst their competitors and earned the people's vote. Find out more.
"The brownie was hot. The ice cream was cold. The chocolate sauce glued it all together: it was heaven..." Read more.
Abby Denson, award-winning author and illustrator, created this wonderful comic about her love of TCR. She writes, "One of the most romantic dessert spots in NYC is The Chocolate Room. Its candle-lit ambience is perfect for dates!" Read more and buy a poster. Also cross-posted at The L Magazine.
Host Tati Amare from faith-based NET NY's Breaking Bread came by the store to talk to Naomi and sample our great desserts. See the video here.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2008
The Chocolate Room is "a homespun place, with exposed brick and tables clustered along a banquette..." Read more.
"In Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, the Chocolate Room is a cozy, narrow café where locals chat over diet-dooming offerings including cups of thick hot chocolate with home-made marshmallows and slices of knockout chocolate cake..." Read more.
"This is where you go for either the goopy sipping chocolate variety ("hot chocolate") or the thinner, milkier kind ("classic hot cocoa")—they do both really well..." Read more.
Luxury TV's Siafa Lewis visits TCR for a taste of chocolate heaven. Read and watch the video (TCR is featured at 2:20 in).
"They should have named it ... Paradise..." Read more.
"The cookies are that right kind of crumbly crisp that works so well with ice cream..." Read more.
"Tinkering is a good thing, according to Naomi Josepher, co-owner of The Chocolate Room..." Read more.
"their brownie sundae ($8) is heaven on earth!..." Read more.
"Visiting the Chocolate Room is about experiencing your favorite childhood desserts..." Read more.
"The boutique on Fifth Avenue is a cozy, intimate place, with French fixtures on brick walls, chocolate wood furniture, and a display case of Fritz Kripschildt’s artisanal bonbons in the foyer to ensure guests leave with more than just lingering flavors..." Read more.
"Perfectly made, dark and deep and uncompromised by any hint of sweetness—very austere and grown up. And they look like they would hold up well in the heat." Read more.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2007
"In many a child's fantasy there exists a candy world, where vegetables are banished and everything is made of chocolate. Park Slope's The Chocolate Room does an admirable job of breathing life into that fantasy..." Read more.
"On the eve of Valentine's Day, Jon Payson and Naomi Josepher opened their brown doors to anxious addicts roaming Fifth Avenue in search of...SUGAR!..." Read the archived article.
"Renee Lipski's husband, Michael, thought she was crazy when she ordered a beer float at the Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, but ended up finishing it off for her..." Read more.
"Naomi Josepher and Jon Payson, co-owners of the Brooklyn dessert café the Chocolate Room, serve their cake with a glass of Bonny Doon Framboise, a liqueur made from raspberries." Read more.
Three-Layer Chocolate Cake with Blackout Filling
Extravagantly rich (though not too sweet), The Chocolate Room's signature three-tiered cake keeps customers begging for more.
THE CREATION: A luscious and perfect three-layer blackout cake courtesy of The Chocolate Room, an intimate Brooklyn chocolate store and dessert café as devoted to sensuousness as any dimly lit French boudoir (86 Fifth Avenue; 718-783-2900; thechocolateroombrooklyn.com).
THE CREATORS: Co-owners Jon Payson and Naomi Josepher, who, along with a team of chefs, took almost a year to get the texture and not-too-sweet flavor just right. "It had to slide right off the fork and bring indescribable pleasure," says Payson, who serves slices accompanied by a small glass of Bonny Doon Framboise liqueur.
MMMM FACTOR: The ménage à trois of opulent, buttery filling, rich but not overpowering frosting, and perfectly moist cake turns most Chocolate Room customers into basket cases—and addicts. The café goes through more than 220 slices a week. (The owners are also happy to concoct their cake in a variety of sizes, including a woozy-sounding triple-tier wedding cake.)
THE HEART OF THE MATTER: Chocolate = happiness. "You just can't walk in here and be in a bad mood," says Josepher. After tasting a single slice, one customer spent ten minutes convulsed in laughter; another burst into tears. Late-night crowds line up outside the Chocolate Room for up to two hours, as if for the late-night dessert equivalent of Woodstock.
Check out the recipe here.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2006
"Utterly homespun and displayed, as tradition dictates, on a pedestal stand under a plastic dome, this old-fashioned favorite has a few things going for it scads of contenders don’t: a moist, tender texture and authentic chocolate flavor." See the original article.
"THIS is what it's come to on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a once-mean street now practically paved with foie gras...." Read more.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: 2005
"In addition to the delectable table menu, the Chocolate Room also boasts a spectacular display case filled with the amazing confections of their off-site chocolatier, Fritz Kripschild..." Continue reading the archived article.
"Hot chocolate is offered in two strengths: 38% and 60% chocolate. Naturally, I ordered the inky dark hot chocolate, which must be one of the richest beverages ever invented..." Read more.
"The aphrodisiac-like alchemy of chocolate and wine has worked, proving correct the couple's hunch that there were people like them who'd rather go out for dessert and audible conversation than stake out a spot at a noisy bar..." Read more.
"A cozy, candlelit nook serving the ever-romantic chocolate fondue for two, classic layer cake, and chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt’s line of bonbons and drizzlable dessert syrups." Go to article.
"Just in time for Valentine’s Day, husband-and-wife team Jon Payson and Naomi Josepher have opened The Chocolate Room, a chocolate boutique and dessert emporium on Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue..." Read more.
"It has taken Jon Payson and Naomi Josepher nearly a year to open the Chocolate Room, a dessert cafe and retail shop at 86 Fifth Avenue (Prospect Place) in Park Slope, Brooklyn. But with Valentine's Day coming, their timing -- and their chocolate fondue for two, right -- are tailor-made for the ultimate chocolate holiday..." Read more.
October 18, 2007
Night Owl Drunk On Chocolate By Stephanie Nolasco
On the eve of Valentine's Day, Jon Payson and Naomi Josepher opened their brown doors to anxious addicts roaming Fifth Avenue in search of...SUGAR! Although that was two years ago, the husband and wife duo continue delighting Brooklynites in their Park Slope café, The Chocolate Room, where everything, including beer and popcorn, contains the sweet, oozing morsels that'll intoxicate you enough to lick the bowls bone dry.
The Chocolate Room, petite in size, bears exposed bricks aligned with brownie brown and cake batter walls. Around are praline wooden chairs and green mint marble tables. The bar, located on the opposite side of the room, is luminous ruby, like red velvet cake with windows overlooking a not-so-secret garden. Guests happily sip on Brooklyn's own crisp, light lager as Frank Sinatra croons behind a hidden speaker. Up front is a glass display revealing delicately wrapped ganaches made by famed European chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt of Denmark. These little handcrafted treats, commonly made with heavy cream, butter, sugar and chocolate, also include unusual ingredients. The heart-shaped Antoinette is made with rosewater and the passion fruit flavored La Femme is molded white chocolate dusted with edible gold. However, why gorge on palm-sized candy when creamy butterscotch, fresh brownies and booze await you at the table?
Be prepared for The Chocolate Room's complimentary sample scoops of Valrhona sorbet. This delicious dessert contains thick, silky textures with bursting, flavors of lightly sweetened chocolate that doesn't dry your mouth. You'll be quickly tempted to order the warm Brownie Sundae ($7.50) with drizzling fudge, whipped cream and a black rum-tasting cherry on top. A cooler choice would be the Not Hot ($5.50), an icy-cold hot chocolate that's more accessible than Serendipity's in Manhattan. Lovers will appreciate the elegant Chocolate Fondue for two ($13.00), which has 60% Belgium chocolate, ripe fruit, soft pound cake and marshmallows. Save the best for last and order a slice of their award-winning Chocolate Layer Cake ($5.50), a moist, fudge-coated masterpiece that slowly melts on your tongue, but quickly fills your belly with euphoria. Leisurely wash it down with the beloved Bonny Doon Framboise ($7.50), a syrupy, sweet wine with a slight raspberry scent.
Chocoholics of New York City must make a pilgrimage to The Chocolate Room and catch up on all the latest city gossip with friends over drinks and sweets. If rehab is for quitters, then chug all the chocolate stout you want without ever admitting you have a problem.
------------
Stephanie Nolasco is having a hard time breaking her addiction to chocolate since she found this little BK brownie. stephanie.nolasco@gmail.com
Summer 2005 issue
There’s Always Room for Chocolate: Park Slope’s New Chocolate Room
By Jillian Lubow and Nicholas Taylor
In addition to the delectable table menu, the Chocolate Room also boasts a spectacular display case filled with the amazing confections of their off-site chocolatier, Fritz Kripschildt.
Before they were small business owners, Jon Payson and Naomi Josepher were both once struggling artists, he a drummer and she a dancer. They met, fittingly, how many struggling artists meet: while waiting tables at the same Manhattan bistro. They married after six years of dating, and after another six they were brought back into the restaurant business, working together this time as owners rather than servers.
“The process of opening the store helped us rediscover the romance of the city,” Naomi reminisces. Naomi, a modern dancer and personal trainer, found the whole experience - from searching for a location to open their café to purchasing the plates and silverware from merchants in the Bowery - to be “a gift from the world.” They met many unusual characters and discovered corners of the city they never knew existed. In addition, they found corners of each other’s personalities they never knew existed.
Jon had wanted to start his own business for a long time. After moving to Park Slope from the Upper East Side, Jon and Naomi were eager to get involved with the Fifth Avenue renaissance, hearing that it was the “new Smith Street.” At first he was thinking of a small café or dessert place, but after thumbing through a book about chocolate one day, a different idea took hold of him. Manhattan boasts excellent chocolate cafés, like the Chocolate Bar, but Brooklyn does not. Although neither Jon nor Naomi had ever been a chocolate connoisseur, like most of us he always had a love for chocolate. Sensing that he had found his niche in the market, he began to learn more and more about chocolate. As he learned more, he found that he was becoming passionate about well-made, hand-crafted chocolate. After a while, his enthusiasm rubbed off on Naomi, and in September 2003 they purchased a storefront on lower Fifth Avenue. In early February 2005, the Chocolate Room opened its doors, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Jon was looking to create a fun dessert shop, with a little fanciness but nothing pretentious. Most importantly, he aimed to create a “total chocolate experience,” providing not just chocolates and cookies, but a wide range of chocolates, cakes, and other desserts. The finely crafted menu offers sweet-tooth staples like chocolate layer cake, but also updated classics like chocolate flan. The menu has recently been expanded to include homemade ice creams as well as dessert wines. The menu at Chocolate Room is small, but somehow there’s something for everyone.
The meal starts with a complimentary plate of chocolate ginger biscotti, which is presented at the table in much the way bread and butter would be brought out to you at an Italian restaurant. And, in addition to the delicious desserts they offer, all priced reasonably between $6.00 and $6.50, there is also a variety of chocolate and coffee drinks. We enjoyed our biscotti and perused the menu while taking in the sights, sounds, and smells around us. The atmosphere of the chocolate room -- a restored tin ceiling, an exposed brick wall, marble table-tops, a theme of circles running throughout the café, Ella Fitzgerald singing softly in the background -- put us in the perfect mood for a sweet indulgence. The atmosphere is relaxed yet sophisticated -- you can almost believe you’re no longer in Brooklyn, but in a cozy Parisian café, sipping coffee and nibbling on a tasty treat. Not sure what to order, but encouraged by the warm atmosphere to expand our horizons a bit, we opted for the frozen white chocolate raspberry mousse and the lemon buttermilk soufflé. Both dishes were delicious and rich, yet not too heavy. Jon said that he aims to provide desserts that leave the customer satisfied but not stuffed. Providing enough sweetness and weight to make you feel like you’re indulging, yet not so much that you feel sick to your stomach, is a delicate art that Jon and Naomi have mastered.
In addition to the delectable table menu, the Chocolate Room also boasts a spectacular display case filled with the amazing confections of their off-site chocalatier, Fritz Kripschildt. At ten dollars for a quarter pound, Fritz’s mind-boggling variety of subtle yet exciting chocolates is well worth the price. All these wonderful chocolates are also available in gift packages and sets, so you can share the beauty of Fritz’s creations with your friends and family.
Given the space’s cool and calm air, it’s amazing to consider that only a few months ago it was a dingy, dirty wreck of a storefront. Jon and Naomi completely renovated the space themselves, refurbishing the brick wall and salvaging the classic tin ceiling from under layers of plaster. Prior to its incarnation as the Chocolate Room, 86 Fifth Avenue had also been diner, a car shop, and a video store. Jon said that even though it hadn’t been a diner in many years, amazingly there were still grease stains on the walls that he had to remove. It is Jon’s hope that his business, along with a lot of the other new business entering the neighborhood, will end this cycle of constantly revolving stores and institutions. The Chocolate Room, Total Wine Bar, Surreal Café, and the countless other new businesses in the area hope to help build a sense of community and continuity in a section of Park Slope that has for too long been in a constant state of flux. In that spirit, Jon and Naomi report that the growing community of committed small-business owners on lower Fifth Avenue has been very supportive of their endeavor, offering help and guidance at every turn. The entrepreneurial couple is optimistic about the prospects of the neighborhood, convinced that the activity and prosperity of upper Fifth Avenue is already working its way north toward Flatbush. “That’s part of the thrill,” said Naomi, “diving into the unknown.” Whether you’re a young couple interested in seeing and tasting the chocolate handiwork of another young couple, or just a regular old chocolate freak, be sure to take a dive into the wonderful pleasures available at the Chocolate Room.
The Chocolate Room
86 Fifth Avenue
718 783 2900
In addition to the delectable table menu, the Chocolate Room also boasts a spectacular display case filled with the amazing confections of their off-site chocalatier, Fritz Kripschildt. At ten dollars for a quarter pound, Fritz’s mind-boggling variety of subtle yet exciting chocolates is well worth the price. All these wonderful chocolates are also available in gift packages and sets, so you can share the beauty of Fritz’s creations with your friends and family.
Given the space’s cool and calm air, it’s amazing to consider that only a few months ago it was a dingy, dirty wreck of a storefront. Jon and Naomi completely renovated the space themselves, refurbishing the brick wall and salvaging the classic tin ceiling from under layers of plaster. Prior to its incarnation as the Chocolate Room, 86 Fifth Avenue had also been diner, a car shop, and a video store. Jon said that even though it hadn’t been a diner in many years, amazingly there were still grease stains on the walls that he had to remove. It is Jon’s hope that his business, along with a lot of the other new business entering the neighborhood, will end this cycle of constantly revolving stores and institutions. The Chocolate Room, Total Wine Bar, Surreal Café, and the countless other new businesses in the area hope to help build a sense of community and continuity in a section of Park Slope that has for too long been in a constant state of flux. In that spirit, Jon and Naomi report that the growing community of committed small-business owners on lower Fifth Avenue has been very supportive of their endeavor, offering help and guidance at every turn. The entrepreneurial couple is optimistic about the prospects of the neighborhood, convinced that the activity and prosperity of upper Fifth Avenue is already working its way north toward Flatbush. “That’s part of the thrill,” said Naomi, “diving into the unknown.” Whether you’re a young couple interested in seeing and tasting the chocolate handiwork of another young couple, or just a regular old chocolate freak, be sure to take a dive into the wonderful pleasures available at the Chocolate Room.
The Chocolate Room
86 Fifth Avenue
718 783 2900
