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World Class Chocolate in San Diego?

May 13, 2008 by Nicole 42 Comments

Eclipse Truffle

San Diego is known for many things. Beautiful weather and beautiful people? Yes. Beaches, great fish tacos, and palm trees? There’s plenty! Handmade artisan chocolate? Hmmmm.

Chocolate just isn’t something that come to mind when you think of California’s southernmost city. But Will Gustwiller, owner of Eclipse Chocolat, is on his way to changing that.

Besides being owner, Will is the head chocolatier of this San Diego-based artisan chocolate shop. This isn’t the corner candy shop you remember from your youth. Eclipse specializes in creating exotic chocolate infusions in truffles, chocolate bars, and a variety of other confections such as crème fraîche cupcakes and dark chocolate croissant bread pudding with creme anglaise.

But Eclipse Chocolat is a special kind of business for reasons other than its amazing chocolate creations. As you walk into the shop, you will see the Eclipse Chocolat Pledge painted on the wall:

  • To provide the highest quality chocolates made from all natural and, when possible, organic ingredients. We never use additives or preservatives.
  • To sponsor local and regional non-profit organizations by donating 10% of our net profits.
  • To maintain “green” operations, using post-consumer paper products and reducing our eco-footprint.

Sounds like a good pledge to me!

Those of you who read Pinch My Salt regularly know that this post is a bit of a break from the norm. For one thing, I don’t normally frequent high end chocolate shops (I’m not much of a chocoholic). For another, I don’t normally write reviews of such places. So what the heck is going on?

Well, I was lucky enough to be invited to Eclipse Chocolat for a San Diego Foodblogger Mixer! That’s right, in addition to sampling some amazing desserts, I got to meet and mingle with a whole bunch of local foodbloggers!

As an American writing a food blog in Sicily, I was a bit isolated from the rest of the foodblogging world (geographically, that is). I was always jealous when I would read about other bloggers meeting up for dinner and becoming friends in ‘real life.’ All of that changed during my trip to New York and Chicago last summer when, for the first time, I got to meet some of my favorite foodbloggers in person. And it was wonderful to discover that they are all as much fun in person as their blogs suggest!

So when we finally had to pack up and make the big move from Sicily back to the states, one of the things I looked forward to was becoming a part of a local foodblogging community!

Although I haven’t been writing much lately, I was really excited when I received the evite from Will inviting myself and several other San Diego Foodbloggers to meet up and indulge in some complimentary dessert tasting platters. I admit I was a little nervous, as I always am in large groups of people I’ve never met, but the event turned out to be lots of fun and I met a great group people!

And let’s not forget about the desserts…

Chocolate Olive Oil Fondue

Chocolate and Olive Oil Fondue. The combination sounded strange but it was good, especially with the strawberries!

Seasonal Dessert Sampler

This is the latest seasonal tasting platter, which included: Frozen Chocolate-Mixed Berry Merlot Mousse (say that five times fast!), Grilled White Chocolate Carrot Gateau, Dark Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding with Creme Anglaise, and a White Chocolate-Chamomile Lemon Bar.

Seasonal Dessert Sampler

A better view of the bread pudding from the same platter.

Foodlbogger Sampling the Seasonal Dessert Platter

Kim from Foolin’ Around in the Kitchen digs into that yummy frozen mousse!

foodblogger sampling a panino

Tyler of What We’re Eating with a Roast Beef Panini that apparently contained chocolate in some form or another. Yes, Eclipse Chocolat also offers sandwiches!

Lavender Vanilla Bean Lemonade

Surprisingly, this Lavender Vanilla Bean Lemonade was one of my favorite things!

Foodbloggers at Eclipse Chocolat

Unfortunately I didn’t get a good group shot of everyone but as you can see, there was lots of mingling going on! Will had the great idea for us to wear name tags featuring our first name plus the name of our blog.

Again, I do not consider myself to be a chocoholic and I freely admit that I prefer milk chocolate over dark. But truffles, whether made from milk or dark chocolate, are one of my weaknesses. The one below consisted of caramel chocolate ganache dipped in milk chocolate, topped with Lavender-scented gray sea salt and we were each given one as a parting gift.

Oh my!

Eclipse Truffle

Not sure how I managed to photograph that truffle before biting into it but it really was as good as it looks! I loved the crunchy sea salt on top and the hint of lavender worked well.

All in all, it was a great afternoon. My only regret is I didn’t get a chance to chat with everyone who was there. I guess we’ll just have to plan another event! Some of the bloggers I did get a chance to meet were:

Marie from Adventures of an Amateur Foodie
Kim from Foolin’ Around in the Kitchen
Alice from Alice Q. Foodie
Tyler and Amanda from What We’re Eating
Roger from The Fifth Deadly Sin
Katherine from Koko’s Corner
Darlene from My Burning Kitchen
Dennis and Elena from Sea Rocket Bistro
Liz from Fooding 411
Caron from San Diego Foodstuff
Marcie from FoodBuzzSD
Angie from CrazySalad
Ben from Ben Bakes a Cake
Josh the SD Chowhound
Will from Eclipse Chocolat Blog

I apologize because I’m sure I’m missing a few of you! If you know of anyone I’ve left out, let me know in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

In short, the San Diego Foodblogger Mixer was quite a success. Not only did I get to meet a great group of people but I was introduced to a wonderful local chocolate shop that I probably never would have sought out on my own.

So, if you happen to find yourself in San Diego and in need of a serious dessert fix, Eclipse Chocolat is the place to go!

Eclipse Chocolate Outside View

Eclipse Chocolat
2121 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92104
619-578-2984
info@eclipsechocolat.com

Store Hours:
Mon-Thurs 9am-10pm
Friday 9am-11pm
Saturday 10am-11pm
Sunday 10am-6pm

Eclipse Chocolat Online
Eclipse Chocolat Blog

And did I mention they have a very comfortable couch and free wi-fi? These are the things that make me happy in life 🙂

Filed Under: Recommendations, Reviews

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa (Homesick Texan) says

    May 13, 2008 at 10:27 am

    I know it's super dorky, but I like it when we wear name tags at our blog mixers, otherwise I'll never remember which face goes with which blog. And that lavender vanilla bean lemonade sounds refreshing. Have you ever cooked with lavender? I've been thinking about making ice cream with it.
    Reply
  2. Tempered Woman says

    May 13, 2008 at 11:07 am

    I'm craving chocolate so bad right now I seriously have a headache. You're killing me with all of those great photos~ ack! ;-) Will from Eclipse seems like master of some serious chocolate concoctions. Amazing creations! Very jealous indeed.
    Reply
  3. emon says

    May 13, 2008 at 11:25 am

    Mmm...I could pop a thousand of those truffles! So, Nicole...check back here one month from now? ;)
    Reply
  4. Lydia says

    May 13, 2008 at 2:20 pm

    Hey! Thanks for posting all the SD food blogs,...it's fun to read from others in the same city! I'm going to have fun checking out everyone else's blogs! :)
    Reply
  5. Nicole says

    May 13, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    Lisa: Yes, it was definitely helpful (and yes, maybe a little dorky) :-) Tempered Woman: Good. Mission accomplished! :-) Emon: Well, hopefully this post marks my return to regular blogging! We'll see! Lydia: I think I have a pretty good list of San Diego food blogs going in my Google Reader now. It's cool to keep track of what all the locals are writing about!
    Reply
  6. Ruby says

    May 13, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    God I love chocolate! Pictures look great. My Aunt Stella works for See's candy and she often brings me nuts and chews (my fav). Anyhow, looks like u had a great time, how fun!
    Reply
  7. Bad Home Cook says

    May 13, 2008 at 8:53 pm

    Hey! I'm only an hour away from S.D. and nobody told me!! And there was chocolate? I'm gonna have to start pouting now... Works for my kids...
    Reply
  8. Joe says

    May 13, 2008 at 9:12 pm

    Oh man, that all looks so good...
    Reply
  9. Nicole says

    May 13, 2008 at 9:24 pm

    Ruby I love See's nuts and chews, too! Mostly because of the caramel stuff! Bad Home Cook We need to organize another food blogger meet up and make sure everyone gets included. Someone needs to compile a master list of San Diego (and vicinity) foodbloggers with e-mail addresses so that we make sure everyone gets invited! I'm still trying to figure out who's blogging down here! Joe :-)
    Reply
  10. Alice Q. Foodie says

    May 13, 2008 at 9:39 pm

    hee that's my dessert! It was great to meet you Nicole, and I hope we can get together again soon! Will might not like me saying this, but we actually have a few really good local chocolate makers here in SD in addition to Will - Guanni, Chuao and Dahlmann among them. Hope you're enjoying checking out San Diego!
    Reply
  11. Y says

    May 14, 2008 at 1:34 am

    What a great looking shop! Love your photos, by the way.
    Reply
  12. Nicole says

    May 14, 2008 at 7:19 am

    Alice I'm sure the other chocolate makers are great, thanks for mentioning them! Y Thanks!
    Reply
  13. jenny says

    May 14, 2008 at 12:27 pm

    mmm, looks lovely! Thanks for all the san diego blogs, I'm looking forward to checking them out soon!
    Reply
  14. Nicole says

    May 14, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    Jenny: Thanks for stopping by! Now I have another local blog to add to my list! :-)
    Reply
  15. Mary Coleman says

    May 15, 2008 at 5:24 am

    It doesn't happen often but I'm speechless. Chocolate and Olive? Seriously, How was that? Those truffles must have been worth the wait for the parting gift!
    Reply
  16. Helen says

    May 15, 2008 at 1:25 pm

    Topped with lavender scented grey sea salt? Oh my! I'm not much of a chocaholic myself either but this sounds and looks stunning.
    Reply
  17. Erin @ The Skinny Gourmet says

    May 15, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    What a fun event! now I'm more than a little jealous about the good times and innovative sweets. Perhaps there is some chocolate shop in chicago that will adopt all us Chicago food bloggers? dont we suffer enough for the weather? must we lack chocolate-based food blogger socializing too!?
    Reply
  18. Mrs. L says

    May 15, 2008 at 10:34 pm

    I'm so craving chocolate right now!
    Reply
  19. PaniniKathy says

    May 15, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    You've convinced me! For delectables like that, I can venture out of North County. I'm all about salt caramels - that last pic put me over the edge :-)
    Reply
  20. aforkfulofspaghetti says

    May 16, 2008 at 4:56 am

    Wow - what a completely amazing afternoon! The description and photos of some of those items are fabulously inspiring and taste-bud tintillating!
    Reply
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