The Chocolate Tour of BostonBy Fran FolsomKatherine Hepburn’s secret to her longevity; “A pound of chocolate a day, a healthy regular diet and plenty of exercise.” In the movie Chocolat the beautiful and mysterious chocolatier changed the people of her village with her delicious sweets. Once they tasted her dark, dense chocolate, their lives took on new vigor. They became happy. Ah, the power of chocolate. I experienced that sense of power recently on an Old Town Trolley Chocolate Tour of Boston. Now, I’m someone who finds it difficult to get through two days without something chocolate. So, you can imagine what I was like when, to cleanse my palate before the tour, I abstained from chocolate for a week. It was not a pretty sight. Katherine Hepburn was quoted in an interview, as saying the secret to her longevity was “A pound of chocolate a day, a healthy regular diet, and plenty of exercise.” My thoughts exactly. Chocolate Tips On the trolley our conductor, Nancy, gave us “chocolate” tips such as; chocolate comes from the cacao bean which grows on the cacao tree in Central America. It takes four hundred beans ground up to make one pound of chocolate. In 600 AD the ancient Mayans were the first civilization to use the cacao pods in a spicy drink they called “chocolatl.” Christopher Columbus, returning from his fourth trip to the New World in 1504, brought the first cocoa beans back to Europe as a gift to King Ferdinand. In 1765 America’s first chocolate factory, Baker’s, was founded in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The ice cream sundae was invented in the late 1800’s at Bailey’s Ice Cream Parlor on Tremont Street in downtown Boston, Halloween is the holiday that generates the most sales in chocolate, and, Snickers is America’s best selling chocolate bar. Marcus Cadbury was the first candy manufacturer to put chocolates into a box. In honor of Valentine’s Day he made heart shaped boxes – chocolate became the gift of love. The Guinness Book of World Records reports that the biggest Easter egg ever made weighed 4,484 pounds. I’d like to see the bunny that could carry that in a basket. Now For The Down Side A pound of chocolates contains 2400 calories. Statistics show that, on a yearly basis, Americans consume twelve and a half pounds of chocolate per person. We are second to the Swiss who devour twenty pounds of chocolate per person each year. And, something that brought a collective gasp for everyone on board – Godiva chocolates is now owned by the Campbell’s Soup Company! How’s that for a bubble breaker. The Tour Although not cheap, $50.00 a ticket, the tour gives you the opportunity of going to three of Boston’s classiest restaurants; Top of the Hub at the Prudential Tower, Parker’s Bar at the Omni Parker House Hotel and the Chocolate Bar Buffet at LeMeridien Hotel.
Once down on terra firma it was onto the Omni Parker House Hotel. Opened in 1856 this is America’s oldest continually operated hotel, and where the dessert Boston Cream Pie was invented. Surrounded by the mahogany paneled walls of Parker’s Bar, seated at linen covered tables, we were served generous portions of the pie. It really isn’t a pie at all, but layers of yellow cake with a custard middle topped by a Swiss chocolate glaze. The opulent room was quiet except for the ooh’s and ahh’s emitted by those of us who were not busy scraping our plates or cleaning them with our fingers, or, licking our forks to get every last morsel of pie.
It was a sea of beautiful calories; chocolate crepes made to order with your choice of fresh strawberries, orange and banana slices, chocolate chips and nuts. There was chocolate spaghetti, chocolate Grand Marnier ravioli, and hot chocolate soup. Yes, chocolate soup! That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the main courses.
As I savored each mouthful I remembered other tips our conductor had mentioned; in the 1700’s chocolate was thought to be beneficial to a persons health, it’s an aphrodisiac, and, it makes people happy. That day not only was I eating healthy, I was happy. With that in mind I could rationalize all those beautiful calories. And, so will you. Bon Appetit. Contact InformationOld Town Trolley Tours The Chocolate Tour runs November through March. Tours depart Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. from the Trolley Stop Store at the corner of Charles and Boylston Streets. The cost is $50.00 per person, reservations are required. |
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Our first stop was Top of the Hub where the service was impeccable, the tables set with white linen tablecloths and water was served in cobalt blue goblets with fresh lemon slices. That’s not all, there’s something to be said for enjoying Chocolate Ganache Cake with Bailey’s Marscarpone Mousse (place picture #1 about here) – fifty two stories above Boston – with breathtaking views all around. What a way to experience a chocolate rush! 
Our last stop was a chocolate lover’s dream come true, the Chocolate Bar Buffet at LeMerdien Hotel (place picture #2 about here) – rows of tables loaded with twenty-five chocolate delicacies to choose from. Raising one arm I shouted “Yes, the mother lode!”
The dessert tables (place picture #3 about here) were studded with eclairs, tarts, ice creams, warm chocolate cake with fudge sauce, dishes of chocolate crème brulee (place picture #4 about here) with a chocolate caramel nut brownie, chocolate parfaits with raspberry mousse, chocolate flan, and chocolate bread pudding with real whipped cream. Just looking at them put me on sensory overload, but I managed to sample most of them. It was a tough job but I was up to the challenge.
To quote one man returning from his second trip to the buffet balancing two overflowing plates he said “Honey, we’ll have to use forks for everything. The spoons weren’t covered with chocolate so I didn’t take any.”