Sweet Liberty Ice Cream

Everyone needs a little sweet indulgence from time to time. Or, overindulgence perhaps. Enter the Chocolate Bar at The Langham Boston Hotel, an annual display of decadence that Bostonians can practically set their watches by. The ten month-long event kicks into high gear in September, runs through the bitter winter and on through the earliest parts of summer. But it’s not about knowing when the Chocolate Bar is happening, it’s about getting a reservation. The sweets-focused event only happens on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. inside The Langham Boston Hotel at the beautiful Café Fleuri. The all-you-can-indulge-in buffet is a dream for anyone with a sweet tooth, featuring all things chocolate from cupcakes and pudding to truffles and ice cream. Chocoholics can begin their afternoon with a sampling of small, dreamy portions of creatively (and artfully) designed confections, including petit fours, cookies, brownies, whoopie pies and mousse. Every sweet bite imaginable is on enormous, beautifully presented displays here, which fills the entire brightly lit dining room. There are even occasional healthy samplings of fruit to balance out the sugar overload. Just be sure to enjoy the chocolate paradise at a slow pace, so as not fill up too quickly from the rich assortment. Once you’ve got your bearings back, satisfy the secondary craving with a chocolate crêpe or chocolate crème brûlée over a hot cup of coffee – or, if you can, some hot chocolate – then head over to the fondue station. There’s fruit and marshmallows for dipping, or you can splurge further at the heavenly chocolate fountain nearby. That is, if you can stomach any more. Little kids will love the cotton candy display and ice cream bar, while their parents may prefer the decadently rich Langham chocolate croissant bread pudding and a variety of dessert-themed adult beverages. Discerning adults may also partake of six or seven dessert-themed alcoholic beverages. And if you can’t make it to the richly priced Chocolate bar, which runs $42 for adults and $29 for children aged five to twelve, Café Fleuri also hosts a weekly Sunday brunch where 20 to 30 of the chocolate confections are also enjoyed. Just don’t expect the grandeur of Saturday’s Chocolate Bar bacchanalia.

This is the first article in Amanda Maguire’s Vegan Guide to Boston series, which profiles Boston’s best vegan products and businesses. It can be tough to find vegan food in Boston—let alone vegan desserts. That’s what makes FoMu Ice Cream such a gem. Owned by Deena Jalal and Hin Tang, the shop has outposts in Allston and Jamaica Plain. I paid a visit to chat with Deena and, of course, sample their wide array of innovative, non-dairy flavors. Their signature ice creams are made from creamy coconut milk, but they also have nut-based flavors that use a blend of cashews and almonds. All of their ice creams contain natural, local, and organic ingredients whenever possible. Here's what Deena had to say about FoMu's crave-worthy ice cream and what makes it so special. GROUPON: What is FoMu's best-selling ice cream? DEENA JALAL: Salted caramel—by far! G: Could you tell us a little about the inspiration behind this flavor and whether you initially expected it to be so popular? DJ: Salted caramel is sort of like the new vanilla. We knew we had to make it—from scratch and with the best ingredients. G: Are there any new ice-cream flavors or products you're particularly excited about? I noticed you now have in-store bake shops. DJ: We have some really popular seasonal flavors that have come out, like our Almond Raspberry Crumble, Purple Mu, and Mango Lassi. We can't make enough of those! We also recently expanded our bakery production. We make all of our ice-cream inclusions from scratch and knew there was a lot of interest to get those directly to our customers. We really focus on making the best from-scratch goodies we can—that happen to be really accommodating to diverse diets. We just came out with a coconut-water sorbet that is so refreshing and unique. It's awesome in the heat. G: Here’s something we all want to know: what makes FoMu so insanely good? DJ: [Laughs] It's magic. It's really a combination of taking awesome ingredients, making things from scratch (which is really hard to do with any dairy ice cream), and churning them with minimal air so that flavors stay intact and the texture is rich and lovely. G: Why did you opt to go plant-based with your ice cream and baked goods, as opposed to using dairy and eggs? DJ: We are huge foodies and into alternative foods. The premium options were lacking in the alternative-ice-cream space, and not using dairy does allow us to craft a super-pure product. G: What has been your best moment as a business owner at FoMu? DJ: Seeing people, especially kids, have ice cream for the first time and love it. G: When you're not making Banoffee Pie, Cardamom Pistachio, or Thai Chili Peanut ice cream, what are you cooking at home? DJ: Oh my goodness—anything we haven't tried before. We love our CSA for that reason. We get amazing produce and get creative with it. We especially love ethnic food and try to emulate our favorite dishes. FoMu Ice Cream is located at 481 Cambridge St. in Allston and 617 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain. To visit via public transit, take the Green Line B Train to Harvard Avenue Station for the Allston store, or take the Orange Line to Green Street Station for the Jamaica Plain location. You can also check out FoMu’s online store. Photos by Aaron Scott Hungry for more? Check Groupon for deals on vegan and vegetarian restaurants in your city, or take a look at these other animal-free stories. The Sexy Vegan on the Sexiest Foods Around Blogger Brian L. Patton (aka The Sexy Vegan) definitively determines the sexiest fruit, spice, utensil, dinner date, and other sexy food items. The Spiralizer Lets You Play with Your Food (And Eat It, Too) It’s almost too fun to watch (and eat) zucchini spiralized into noodles, potatoes into curled ribbons, and carrots into twisty threads. The World’s Best Vegan Restaurants, from the Man Behind HappyCow From Fort Lauderdale to Berlin, find out where a world traveler flies to eat at the best vegan restaurants in the world. Terry Hope Romero Is Changing the Weird, Sexist Notion That Men Cannot Enjoy Salad This recipe for Backyard Buffalo Caesar Salad is hearty enough for the manliest of men.

Winter is definitely here.  The icy temperatures and the snow filled sidewalks are here, and the residents of Boston are bundling up, flinging on scarves, lacing up boots and securing hats to ensure their outsides are warm and snug against the brutal temps.  Sometimes though, just layering on those woolen pieces doesn’t quite do the trick and there is only one thing that will help shake that chill off: hot cocoa.  There is just something about a big steaming mug of liquid chocolate that truly warms the body from the inside out.  Of course, if you’re going to indulge in the delicious drink, you want the good stuff.  You don’t want some powder from a pouch hastily stirred into hot water you can make that at home!  You want something rich and decadent, something that lets you know that you’re getting something special. The Boston area has some fantastic options to check out, all over the city, that have unique and fantastic variations of hot chocolate.  First on everyone’s lips when looking for recommendations is L.A. Burdick’s, with locations in Harvard Square and Back Bay.  I stopped in during a bit of Christmas shopping, looking for a pick me up, a treat for the hard “work” I was enduring amid the crowded streets.  L.A. Burdicks is a bit of a sanctuary.  Entering their shops is like taking a step back in time, into a long forgotten chocolate shop where the chocolate is imported from France and Switzerland, and the confections are made by hand in small batches to ensure quality with every bite, or, in my case, sip.  I opted for a Madagascar Hot Chocolate featuring a dark chocolate base enhanced with notes of orange and vanilla. This was the thickest, richest hot chocolate I have ever tasted.  Each sip awarded me with a true chocolate blast, which would satisfy any chocoholic’s desires. The Thinking Cup, with locations in the North End and on Tremont Street with views of Boston Common, is an independent coffee shop with coffees, teas, sandwiches and pastries to make the cast of Friends jealous.  As one of my favorite spots to relax with a cup of joe and hunker into some writing, I had high hopes for their hot chocolate.  I was not disappointed.  Their French style offering, featuring 64% Tainori Valhrona Drinking Chocolate, is exactly what I was looking for, chocolaty, but highly drinkable allowing me to savor every sip of the creamy drink.  Every sip brought me back to winter days of my childhood where a day of snowman building was rewarded with a delicious cup of hot chocolate.  The Thinking Cup delightfully combines our childhood memories with our more adult palates and creates a perfect marriage. Max Brenner is an international chain that won a place in the hearts of the city of Boston when for weeks they offered all proceeds of the sale of their famous hot chocolate to marathon victims.  Max Brenner’s specializes in all things chocolate, and has incredible seven different types of hot chocolate at all times on their menu. Each can be made with either white chocolate, milk chocolate or dark chocolate making it simple to customize your drink exactly as you want it.  Their unique creations feature a Mexican style boasting red chili, nutmeg and cinnamon for the ultimate in “warming” techniques, their Marshmallow is the ultimate in nostalgia as they melt gooey marshmallows right into your mug and their Salted Caramel creates the perfect decadence of sweet caramel, rich chocolate and salt to enhance it all. No matter where the icy wind blows you this year, the Boston area has you covered to warm up with hot chocolate.  So dig out those mittens and scarves, bundle up and then find your favorite spot to warm up over a steaming hot mug of cocoa.