The tiny lobby of 315 Sutter, a narrow, nondescript building a couple of blocks from Union Square, gives little clue that a short ride up the elevator leads to one of most esoteric gastronomic destinations in the world: Le Sanctuaire. This unique shop offers a selection of exotic spices, salts, vinegars, and other seasonings; sous vide baths, liquid nitrogen tanks, and other postmodern kitchen tools; molecular-gastronomy requisites such as sodium alginate, methyl cellulose, and maltiol; and a selection of imported books by chefs such as Hestor Blumenthal, Ferran Adria (in Spanish), and Nobu Matsuhisa (in Japanese).
(Chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt and CocoaBella owner Michael Freeman)
Last Saturday, our intrepid Web editor Janine Kahn and I hit up the original location of CocoaBella Chocolates (2102 Union), joining about 30 others for the store's first Top Chocolatier Pairing of artisan chocolates and alcohol. You may view our slideshow here, and we now have video of the chocolatiers to share.
The handsome Fritz Knipschildt of Norwalk, Connecticut could easily be the pin-up of the chocolate world, and he enhances that idea since all of his luxurious chocolate pieces are named after women. Here he speaks on a special variation of his Hannah piece that he created, aging aged balsamic vinegar to his liquid caramel enrobed in sea salted chocolate, which we enjoyed with a glass of Cornet et Cie Banyuls Rimage.
