Ghirardelli Chocolate

When I visit Walt Disney World a visit is never complete until I have gone to the Downtown Disney Shopping Center and visited Ghirardelli.  If you don't know about Ghirardelli it is some wonderful chocolate made right here in America.  This picture of the outside of the shop shows Domingo Ghirardelli; an Italian immigrant, and his chocolate making history in San Francisco.  When you turn the corner to the front of the store the feature attraction is the chocolate.

This marquee on the outside of the building shows my favorite chocolate the "Drinking Chocolate."  I will get to more about that in a minute.

Step inside the door and a person hands you a square of chocolate free!  Yes, free chocolate.  Do I need to say more.  This is one reason this has become one of my favorite stops.  This wall display has some others.  Here you are looking at chocolate drops and chocolate covered fruit.  The saleslady's hand is on the chocolate covered blueberries,  right next to it is chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate covered apricots.  We have bought these in years past and they are delicious!

Check this out!  Shelves of chocolate squares in cellophane bags tied with satin ribbons.

Okay now we are getting to the serious chocolate lover's display.  Here is what you are looking at, chocolate lava cake, triple chocolate brownies, chocolate dipped strawberries, a fondue set, chocolate caramel fudge sauce, bittersweet chocolate fudge sauce, hot cocoa (in these flavors) double chocolate, chocolate hazelnut, and white mocha, and a cookbook opened up to the chocolate lava cake recipe.  But that is not all....

this little golden tin has drinking chocolate, just like the picture in the marquee out front.  I did a Foodie Friday post on this back in the winter.  You can view that here.  What is so special about this drinking chocolate is that is isn't hot chocolate.  It is true liquid chocolate.  It reminds me of the movie Chocolat when Vianne (Juliette Binoche) makes chocolate for Roux (Johnny Depp).  The best part is you can make this at home with the recipe in my Foodie Friday post.  I got the recipe off of Ghirardelli's site and you can visit that here.  You can also order most of things you see here at their website. 

 This store is also a working soda fountain shop.  They can make you almost anything.  

The lady behind the counter on the left is making the homemade waffle cones.  They smell amazing.  

So, your wondering what did I buy?  When I headed toward the store; leaving the van, the teenagers were shouting buy chocolate, lots of chocolate!

 So, a bag of the little chocolate squares with the satin ribbon made it back home with us.  If it had not been packed deep within my suitcase it might have been on the endangered species list.

But, through 1,000 miles of highway, growling teens, potty breaks, and fast food from hell; these fabulous little chocolate squares made it home in my suitcase for me to break in two and slowly savor each delectable bite. Ghirardelli a Foodie stop in heaven.:)
I will link this to Michael Lee's Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.
I will also link to Laurie's My Favorite Things at her site Bargain Hunting and chatting with Laurie.