So who doesn’t like chocolate? I think I’d be hard-pressed to find one person raising their hand in a room of 100 people.

I’ll admit that I love chocolate, especially dark. I’ve sampled amazing chocolates all over the world and enjoy trying out local shops and brands.

When it comes to chocolate, one trip stands out. During a quick trip to Belgium, my brother and I had lots of fun sampling amazing chocolates from lots of different shops. (FYI- The beer was pretty darn good too!)

I came across an article about America’s Best Chocolate Shops from Fodor’s earlier in the month.

I pretty much forgot about the article until yesterday. We were in Switzerland and I decided to check out the local selection of chocolate bars in a shop before heading back to Italy. I figured why not bring a few Swiss chocolate bars back home? Or, maybe eat a couple before we made it back!

Here is the list of America’s Best Chocolate Shops:

• See’s Candies- Los Angeles
• Jacques Torres Chocolate- New York City
• Vosges Haut-Chocolat- Chicago
• Xocolatti- New York City
• Cacao-Atlanta
• Theo Chocolate- Seattle
• EHChocolatier- Somerville, MA
• French Broad Chocolates- Asheville, NC
• Kakao Chocolate- St Louis
• The Meadow- Portland, OR
• L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates- Walpole, NH
• TCHO New American Chocolates- San Francisco
• Mast Brothers- Brooklyn, NY
• Lake Champlain Chocolates- Burlington, VT
• Norman Love Confections- Fort Myers, FL

From Fodor’s list, I’ve only visited two of these shops and the chocolates are awesome.

1. Jacques Torres opened his first shop in Brooklyn and Kim and I have been big fans. He has a huge variety of chocolates but I’d recommend the frozen hot chocolate! Since then he’s opened a bunch of other locations around NYC.
2. We also tried Vosges Haut-Chocolate at their New York store. I first heard of them on TV because of their Chocolate Bacon bar. I tried out the bar which I liked a lot but it was definitely a bit odd. We tried one other bar, I think chocolate with sea salt which was also very good.

From the list there is one other that we have tried, but not at their shop or on its own. Mast Brothers is known for it’s chocolate bars but they are very pricey. I’ve hesitated on buying one to try out since I figured that at some point we’ll get to do a tour of their factory which is in Brooklyn. However, Shake Shack came out with a Concrete mixed with chunks of Mast Brothers dark chocolate. Based on this sampling I’d like to try more!

Have you been to any of the shops (or tried any chocolate) from Fodor’s list? If so, which ones and how was it?

Check out the full Fodor’s chocolatey slide show HERE.