Oh, How Sweet It Is! (Guest blogger - Amy Calhoun)

Randy and I first discovered The Langham Hotel's chocolate buffet while watching a show on the Travel Channel. After viewing the segment, I knew I would be making the trip with Randy on his Boston baseball pilgrimage just so I could indulge in this amazing spread of my favorite food ... CHOCOLATE!



Yes, our actual wedding cake.



While Randy is big on steak, I am a huge fan of chocolate. It's a rare day that I don't have some form of chocolate -- chocolate in my coffee, chocolate milk, candy, cookies, cake ... well, you get the picture. Even our wedding cake was chocolate.

Stepping into Cafe Fleuri's Chocolate Bar was like walking into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory only a bit more adult and sophisticated. (and with smaller portions) A chocolate fountain graced the center of the buffet and was surrounded by 8 additional tables all laden with sugary goodness. I was like a kid in a candy store...literally!



This was perhaps the most decadent experience I have ever had. Although I have participated at the midnight buffet on a couple cruise ships, this spread was superior in quality and attention to detail. Everything was beautifully displayed and each dessert was labeled  - even with possible food allergens.

A sampling of the many desserts.

Each year the chef selects a different theme for Cafe Fleuri's Chocolate Bar. This season the chef has focused on the five elements of taste: salty, sour, bitter, sweet and savory. Before diving into the selections our waiter brought us water and coffee. After eating that many sweets, coffee or tea is a must.

I came prepared to sample. Being part of the clean plate club was not going to happen. I wanted to try as many desserts as I possibly could. Most servings are bite-size or a little larger. On my first go around, I filled 3 plates with 15 different desserts. Even with bite-size servings, I was still only sampling for flavor.

Kid in a candy store!

My first sampling was a hand-rolled chocolate truffle dusted with raspberry infused powdered sugar. The liquid chocolate in the center was smooth, creamy and bitterly rich. YUM! I was off to a fantastic start. My next taste had me a bit nervous - a combination of chocolate and pumpkin. I enjoy both of these flavors separately but couldn't really imagine they would taste good together. I was wrong. Utilizing very little spice, the pumpkin was just a slight undertone to the chocolate. I ate all of this and will be searching recipes to figure out how to make something similar for Thanksgiving this year.

I have two favorite chocolate flavor combinations - chocolate and peanut butter along with chocolate and raspberry. Yes, each of those combinations were available. The Peanut Crunch Cake layers salty peanuts with chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. Yes, very good with the crunch of the peanuts not being something you would expect in a cake. The layered chocolate cake, chocolate mousse and raspberry was fabulous as was the raspberry whipped mousse with a chocolate crust. These five items were my favorites.

Smoked cake

Randy had me try a bite of cake he had grabbed. Now this falls into the savory category. Here is the description straight from the menu: flourless chocolate cake made with house-smoked bittersweet chocolate  House-smoked bittersweet chocolate - unique to the taste buds to say the least. My vote is still out on this one. My initial thought was that there was bacon in the cake. I'm glad I tasted it, but I wouldn't want to eat a whole piece of smoked cake.

Of course I had a chocolate dipped strawberry and I drenched fruit and pretzels in the chocolate fountain. Holding food on a skewer and letting chocolate shower over it is just fun. I tasted a dense chocolate brownie, a white chocolate mousse with a strawberry gel, chocolate mousse with passion fruit, cannoli, Boston creme cake, a chocolate filled tart and a few other items.

There were two service stations as well. One was making chocolate crapes and the other served ice cream with your selection of mix-ins (I skipped the ice cream since I had done that before at Cold Stone Creamery). There was a cotton candy machine and an array of cookies, brownies and rice krispie treats. Unfortunately, no chocolate soup on the menu this year. At my best guess, I would say this buffet offers more than 50 different items.

Nearing the end of this chocolate extravaganza, I had another skewer of chocolate dipped pineapple and Randy grabbed a shot glass of chocolate liquid. He downed the liquid and told me to go get two more - one for each of us. We toasted each other and I downed what I was expecting to be chocolate milk. It was a chocolate liquid infused with cinnamon. I don't know if it was milk but that cinnamon took me by surprise. It was a delightful topper for the end of our "tour de chocolate."

If you are ever in Boston on a Saturday, I recommend  you check out Cafe Fleuri. Even the locals come here. There was at least one birthday party seated near us and a baby or bridal shower seated across the way. Plan to spend a minimum of an hour and take little bites so you can try as many desserts as you can possibly handle. And if you are wondering if I over did it and am off chocolate for awhile ... nope, I've had a little bit of chocolate everyday since arriving back home.

RANDY'S EDIT:  One note of caution - it's pricey.  Really pricey.  It's chocolate.  Get over it....

Thanks for reading! - Amy

Amy and Randy at Cafe Fleuri