Where to Get Hot Chocolate In the U.S.

As comforting as powdered cocoa may be, a new class of high-intensity hot-chocolate drinks gives a cacao rush akin to eating truffles or a luscious chocolate dessert.

Made from pure melted chocolate bars and topped with homemade marshmallows, this thick hot chocolate is Food and Wine editor-in-chief Dana Cowin's favorite version in the country. During their Annual Hot Chocolate Festival in February, the café serves a different flavor every day of the month, including malted milk, banana, and creamy stout.

3 W 18th St. New York, NY; (212) 366-1414; thecitybakery.com

At superstar chef Rick Bayless's Mexican takeout joint, the menu includes tortas (sandwiches), empanadas, and churros, which can be dipped in hot chocolate. Baristas grind the cacao beans to order and foam the hot chocolate with a molinillo, a traditional wooden whisk.

449 North Clark St. (enter on Illinois St.), Chicago, IL; (312) 334-3688; rickbayless.com/restaurants/xoco.html

Combining the thicker weight of a Parisian chocolat chaud with the traditionally Mexican addition of cinnamon, chef-owner Annie Miler’s homemade hot chocolate is a year-round favorite at her bakery-café. "I wanted something that was rich but not so overwhelmingly rich that you couldn't drink a cup of it," says Miler. Food and Wine editors also love her creative griddled, grilled, and stuffed open-face sandwiches.

1751 Ensley Ave., Los Angeles, CA; (310) 552-1080; clementineonline.com

At her beautiful boutique, owner Kristen Hard makes amazing bean-to-bar chocolates and fun desserts like dark-chocolate-dipped frozen bananas. Hard infuses her super-spicy dark-chocolate cocoa with six chiles and tops it with a fresh marshmallow.

312 C North Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA; (866) 960-9449; cacaoatlanta.com

"We have lots of rich chocolate ganache all the time in the pastry kitchen, and our customers kept asking for hot chocolate," says Joanne Chang, pastry chef and owner of this relaxed bakery-café that has three locations in Boston. "So we scooped it into the espresso milk pitchers and steamed it with milk to make our signature hot chocolate. It's thick and rich and really delicious." The "fiery" version gets its spicy flavor from chile powder and cayenne pepper.

flourbakery.com

To create thick, rich hot chocolate tableside, servers at the hotel's Fireside Lounge muddle Valrhona chocolate with hot milk, then pour the mixture over a chocolate lattice that melts from the heat of the liquid. It's topped with marshmallows and whipped cream and served with chocolate streusel.

One Vail Rd., Vail, CO; (970) 477-8600; fourseasons.com/vail/dining

This coffeehouse specializes in espresso drinks but also serves a superb hot chocolate that combines steamed organic milk, cocoa powder, and 70-percent-cacao bars handmade by Rogue Chocolatier's owner, Colin Gasko.

2038 Marshall Ave., St. Paul, MN; (651) 698-0457; kopplinscoffee.com

Chef-owner Christopher Elbow worked as the pastry chef at the American Restaurant in Kansas City until demand for his chocolate petits fours convinced him to launch his own candy business in 2003. Elbow's signature Venezuelan Spiced Hot Chocolate contains steamed milk, dark chocolate, nine spices (including cinnamon and cayenne), two kinds of chiles, homemade whipped cream, and marshmallows.

1819 McGee St., Kansas City, MO; (816) 842-1300; elbowchocolates.com

For more than 30 years, owner Fran Bigelow has been setting candy trends — she was selling miniature chocolate bars and designer truffles before they became ubiquitous. At her flagship chocolate shop in downtown Seattle, Bigelow combines steamed organic milk with 65 percent Venezuelan dark Valrhona chocolate shavings to make her signature dark hot chocolate.

1325 1st Ave., Seattle, WA; (206) 682-0168; franschocolates.com

At their always-packed corner café, husband-and-wife team Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson make outstandingly silky Valrhona hot chocolate. Baristas finish each cup with a delicate foam leaf design.

600 Guerrero St., San Francisco, CA; (415) 487-2600; tartinebakery.com

Superstar chef José Andrés's modern Mexican restaurant sells his signature thick hot chocolate, infused with cloves, cinnamon, and vanilla beans, by the pitcher. It's the perfect accompaniment to house-made churros.

401 7th Street NW, Washington, D.C.; (202) 628-1005; oyamel.com

Baristas at all eight locations of this cult coffeehouse (in Portland, Seattle, and NYC) blend Mast Brothers Chocolate from Brooklyn with hot milk and sugar, then top the hot chocolate with a puff of cocoa powder.

stumptowncoffee.com

Are these too good to be true? We think so, too. Get a few more best-of-the-country lists from Food & Wine.

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