David Bacco's Chocolats

Update: David Bacco's Chocolats is now DB Infusion Chocolates.

In a word: Luxury in little boxes.

The specs: #0455  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Madison Dining Online, Yelp, Daily Cardinal, Reading This Will Not Make You Popular; interviews at Isthmus, WKOW; official web site.

Gery, JM, John R., Nichole, Rose, and Ross ate an eight-piece assortment and a chakra bar.
The bill was $21, or $3.50/person.
JM, Nichole and Ross gave David Bacco's Chocolats an A-; Rose gave David Bacco's Chocolats a B+; John gave David Bacco's Chocolats a B; Gery gave David Bacco's Chocolats a C (see our grading rubric).

Latest David Bacco's Chocolats news and reviews

Shopping for David Bacco chocolates at Hilldale Mall is a lot like buying jewelry. Not only is presentation more than half the fun, but the staff behind the counter is solicitous and knowledgeable - and no way did any part of your purchase come from Dane County.

As we assembled choices for our eight-piece, refillable (!) box, our chocolate concierge described each morsel and placed it delicately in its spot with white-gloved fingers. We got a fromage de bleu from the Earth assortment; a caramel and a cashew carmel to represent Air; for Fire, a white chocolate silk; and several - coconut rum, lemongrass citron, lychee orange blossom, and smoked Spanish paprika - from the seasonal selections.

Once home, we cut up most of the pieces and tried to share the love. Starting with the more mundane, the cashew caramel was a hit; salty and chewy, it had an enchanting sweetness we couldn't quite place. The plain caramel also garnered praise.

The lychee orange truffle was very sweet indeed, and quite tropical. The coconut rum was enrobed in dark, rich chocolate yet was ultimately light and flavorful.

The lemongrass-citron was a distillation of summer - so very Wisconsin-y, it tasted like cut grass and made John R. want to moo in appreciation.

On the more exotic end, the smoked Spanish paprika lent that truffle a nice pop of an aftertaste. The bleu cheese truffle hit both sides of one's mouth, practically independent of one another. Rose said she'd hoped for more chocolate than cheese flavor and was disappointed. Nichole was fascinated but wouldn't necessarily consider her chocolate fix sated.

Finally, of the bunch the white chocolate silk was not very tasty. As Gery observed, white chocolate is just the grease of the cocoa bean, and even David Bacco couldn't hide that fact.

Since Ross had a bit of a headache while we were shopping, we chose the Third Eye chakra bar with açai berry powder, lavender and poppy in hopes of a cure. While it wasn't magic, it sure was tasty, though the additives were subtle, but we wouldn't throw out a bottle of Excedrin for it.

We'd had the good fortune to try David Bacco's chocolates at Cocoliquot and Ma-Cha before, and our assessment stands: for flash and flair, they can't be topped. They are beautiful and exotic and flaunt their far-flung roots in imported ingredients and shiny finish. For real, deep, sensuous chocolate flavor, however, you may have to look closer.

Comments

[Amanda]

This place is like going to the jewelry store, except much more affordable and you can eat the jewelry! Yes, it may be a bit on the pricey side, but the unique flavors I think are worth it. I think my favorites so far have to be the exotic caramel and a saffron truffle I had once. It's fun to see all the truffles being made in the back too. They're very passionate about the chocolate here, making it very fun for a visit. If you eat there, they give you a chilled block of granite for the chocolates and a knife for splitting. The hot chocolate mixtures are pretty dang good too. We're very fortunate to have some amazing chocolatiers in Madison that do very different things with their art.

[Leslie]

I prefer Gail Ambrosious for flavor though David Bacco does better with the designs.

[Kyle]

David Bacco makes chocolate art. Gail Ambrosius makes artistic chocolate. And Candinas has a secret underground lair.

Also, +11 on the exotic caramel. I get that one every time, no matter what else is on the menu.

DB also serves Intelligentsia coffee, which is tasty--but yes, grit-water (JM).

[Timmy]

Candinas may be the best chocolate truffles in the country.

[Elizabeth]

I prefer eating Candinas truffles. I prefer looking at David Bacco truffles.

[Ellie]

I have tried chocolates from all three of these places. I have to say that the chocolates from DB, while beautiful, were the least memorable. I was also looking into doing a chocolate tasting last spring, and the quote I got from David Bacco's marketing person was outragous, $45 a person. Gail Ambrosious does a wonderful tasting for just $15 a person. Anyhow, I'm not saying the chocolates at David Bacco's isn't good, I'm just going to stick to Candinas and Gail Ambrosious.

[Joe]

I went to David Bacco's tonight with my roommate, and the chocolates there were gorgeous! The chocolates do look better than those by Gail Ambrosius's, which I purchased as Christmas gift last year :) Gail's chocolates are a bit more expensive, and they look uber plain. However, the flavors are wonderful and I would have never guessed that since each piece looks identical in the inside.

David Bacco's is a different type of chocolate. I had some of Bacco's creations back at Cocoliquot and had fond memories. His chocolate is like art, with each pieces painted differently. Since I love dark chocolate and hate white chocolate, I tried some bittersweet/dark chocolate pieces with my roommate. We both love the licorice creation along with some fruity ones! There were many wonderful ones too!

As a graduate student from Taipei, I think that both places are amazing, and it is funny to say which one is better since they are both different types of art. I am in no way a big fan of the hershey's bar too and am picky with things I eat. I do think that chocolates from both places are gems :)

[Ken]

Since you just did an updated review of this place, it probably would be best to make a reference to it on this review.

[Gary]

David bacco has moved to Sothern California; his new business is David Bacco Chocolatier.
His new website is bacco-chocolatier.com.