You'll often see long lines out the front door of the French Broad Chocolate Lounge on weekends. And it's worth the wait... a chocolate lover's dream. Their delcious variety of hand-crafted artisan chocolates and pastries features superb local and organic ingredients. It's a great spot for dessert after dinner at a nearby downtown restaurant since they are open late. Sip a glass of wine paired with your chocolate. Or see how perfectly a creamy stout pairs with vanilla ice cream and their dark, dense cacao nib brownie.
Savor a liquid truffle, their signature hot sipping chocolate with flavors like Indian Kulfi, Masala Chai, Cayenne & Cinnamon and pure dark chocolate. Cakes include the quintessential chocolate, highland mocha stout, vanilla, unadulterated carrot, chocolate truffle torte and the theros olive oil chocolate cake.
Chocolate + Milk is their chocolate, ice cream, and coffee boutique, located next door. The entrance is just down the block from the Lounge. The sweet secret is that often you can skip the long lines at the lounge and pick-up truffles, ice cream, coffee to-go and chcolates here. Both are located on the park in the middle of downtown, at at 10 S. Pack Square.
French Broad Chocolates Factory & Tasting Room
Visit their Factory at Ramp Studios at 821 Riverside Drive, a short drive north of downtown Asheville. They are open every day with coffee, truffles and treats, ice cream, beer, wine and pastries. Take a tour of the bean-to-bar process to see chocolate being made. Their chocolate museum has lithographs, prints and photographs celebrating the art of all things cacao. Creators Dan and Jael Rattigan use fair trade cacao (cocoa) from Peru to create chocolate for their line of chocolate bars as well as creations at the Lounge.
These are just two of the stops on our Downtown Asheville Chocolate Tour.
