The Ohio State themed buckeye truffles, each with a different flavor added into the ganache. Credit: Mason Swires | Lantern Reporter
There is definitely something comforting about eating a piece of well-made chocolate. There is also comfort in nursing a cocktail of your choosing. Luckily for the city of Columbus, Le Chocoholique has been blending these two together for the past five years.
The little corner where Le Chocoholique resides is at the foot of the Short North, right before the awkward transition into the downtown area. But it is surely placed there because the Short North saved one of the best places for last.
The store, located at 601 N. High St., specializes in handmade truffles. Truffles are made of a hard chocolate shell and are filled with ganache, which usually has flavors like raspberry, cherry or a darker chocolate. They’re in every Valentine’s Day gift box, the hallmark of holidays and last minute, buy-a-box-of-candy gifts that accompany many a forgotten anniversary. But Le Chocoholique’s truffles are some of the most diverse and oddly satisfying combinations.
Craving a chocolate filled with a sweet white chocolate and peanut butter, but mixed with ghost chili and Satan’s blood pepper juices? Then the Dante’s Inferno truffle is for you.
Filled with school spirit? Try the trapezoidal, hard-shelled buckeye truffle that is painted to look like a helmet from our very own Buckeye football team and is filled with the traditional buckeye ingredients.
“Every single truffle here is handmade and hand-painted, except for maybe like five,” said employee Andrea Hong. “We have so many unique tastes, all of which come from the ganache. Like the blue cheese truffle, which is basically focused on the inside with just a thin chocolate shell.”
Three of the featured wines with recommendations on what dessert to eat with them. Credit: Mason Swires | Lantern Reporter
Although a favorite, Le Chocoholique doesn’t just serve truffles.
“We serve desserts for after dinner, coffee, wines, cocktails and beer. But truffles are just like our thing,” Hong said. “People come in here to try different truffles, and they pick mostly based on the painting outside because it’s shiny and pretty, or they like the different fruits we put in or the use of peanut butter and nuts. Some even have alcohol inside them so you have to eat it in one bite, like our OYO Bourbon or Gypsy Apple Pie Mead truffle.”
The atmosphere in Le Chocoholique is one of dim relaxation. The marble-topped tables and rustic looking chairs are, like the rest of the color scheme, a monochromatic black and white, which is strangely refreshing. It really makes the vibrancy of the painted truffles stand out and makes the place aesthetically appealing and balanced.
All in all, chocolate by itself is a motivation to come to an establishment and partake in the rich indulgence that exists between chocolate and chocolate lover. But add the variation of truffle flavors and couple it with a glass of deep red wine, and you have yourself a place to call dessert heaven.
