After three decades of tempting people in the East with its artisanal chocolates, L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates ( 609 N. State St.; www.burdickchocolate.com/ ) has finally opened in Chicago.
( There is one issue that should be tackled immediately: Despite its name, L.A. Burdick has nothing to do with Los Angeles; it's named after the founder, Larry A. Burdick. In fact, Chief Operating Officer Cathleen Watson told Savor that the company may simply call itself "Burdick" because of the constant confusion. )
However, there's no confusion regarding the decadence of the company's offerings, which are gluten-, preservative- and nut-free. The drinking chocolate alone is worth a visitand imagine enjoying in the middle of a Chicago winter, which will be here soon enough despite the current unseasonably warm temps.
And there's so much more, including L.A. Burdick's signature chocolate mice and penguinincluding sweets that celebrate such special times as Halloween, Valentines Day and Robert Burns Day ( seriously ). Cakes, truffles, chocolate bars and moreit's a dessert lover's dream.
Dessert Crawl coming up
Speaking of sweets, the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce ( ACC ) will host the Andersonville Dessert Crawl on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2-5 p.m.
Tickets are available for people of all ages online now for two curated routes, "Gumdrop Mountains" or "Peppermint Forest"each featuring 11 sweet stops.
This will be the last year the crawl will take place by itself. "While this year's event marks the end to the original Dessert Crawl, we plan to combine it with Dinner Crawl in 2018 to provide a full-flavored 'Taste of Andersonville' experience for our guests," said Laura Austin, community and events manager with the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.
A few of this year's slated stops include Candyality, Dollop Diner, Blu 57, Pork Shoppe and TrueNorth Cafe.
Tickets ( $25-$30 each ) can be purchased online at Andersonville.org until Oct. 29 at noon. If available, additional day-of tickets will be sold starting at 1 p.m. at the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St. Proceeds support the ongoing programing of the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce.
Check in at Swedish American Museum, Tickets at www.andersonville.org/events/dessert-crawl/ .