Belgian chocolate

  

So hard to find in California good chocolate and moreover Belgian chocolate!We are missing so much our “Cote d’Or” with delicious varieties as dark chocolate filled with Almonds, creamy milk chocolate, chocolate with Hazelnuts, …

We found an excellent Belgian chocolate at a reasonable price in Trader Joes (><Whole Food: $8 for chocolate pieces!).The chocolate is made in Antwerpen and has 4 varieties: milk,  72% dark chocolate, chocolate with almonds and bittersweet chocolate. This chocolate is made with  cacao butter and not other substitutes, definitely you taste the difference!

It looks like this:

                                                

General info

• A constant consumption pressure: shops are open 7/7 and are open late. Americans love go shopping!

• Customer is king:

  • With the receipt you can be reimbursed if you are not happy with the product or simply changed your mind. 

  • You get free help out until your car.

• Be careful, you must add Tax to the price shown: in California, the fixed basic tax is 7,25 % plus 1,25 % for the city of SF.

• Tip: Shops offer member cards. Discounts that you can get with these cards are huge, don’t hesitate to subscribe!

Discounts

• Costco is a wholesale selling products at low prices, often at very high volume. Memberships must be purchased in advance.

Supermarkets

Albertsons 

• Description: combination food-drug stores and warehouse stores,
• Free membership card: Yes 

 Safeway:

• Description: food-drug stores
• Free membership card: Yes

Whole Foods Market

• Description: organic foods supermarkets
• No membership card
• You can find European products: cheese, chocolate, bread,…

 Trader Joe’s

• Description: specialty retail grocery store that stocks import and gourmet food items at low prices.
• No membership card
• You can find imported products at a reasonable price: cheese, chocolate, bread, coffee, wine, beer, …

Other supermarkets:

• ANDRONICO’S, CALMART, MOLLIE STONE’S, …

Farmers’ markets

• California Farmers’ Markets are your source for field-ripened fresh fruits and vegetables, freshly baked breads and pastries, flowers, gourmet appetizers and gifts, fresh fish, nuts, mushrooms, …
• When: once or two times a week in your town in the Bay area. Click here to see schedules.

Products

• Sourdough bread: has a very strange flavor. Some loves it, some hates it, to try! 
• Pasteurized milk: in the
  US, milk is not pasteurized UHT (ultra high temperature) but pasteurized HTST (high temperature/short time). HTST milk must be refrigerated and consumed before its expiration date.
• Bread:
  • Grace baking: you can find it in Trader Joe’s stores, Safeway.
  • Acme Bread: you can find it in Farmer’s markets (see above)
  • Bay Bread: you can find it in Trader Joe’s, Whole foods or Bay Bread Bakery (
    
    2325 Pine Street in San Francisco, CA 94115).
  • Croissants at Albertsons are tasty.