Down a flight of eight steps on busy 18th Street NW, United Airlines flight attendant Biagio Abbatiello has created a sophisticated showplace for his passion: fine chocolate. Decorated in minimalist style, with fresh flowers and a few tribal masks from cacao-growing regions in West Africa and South America, the chic store is a chocoholic's shrine.
"In 20 years of travel, I've lived in London and Paris, where they have these wonderful chocolate shops. But we didn't have that here," says Abbatiello, 51, who opened Biagio Fine Chocolate in late December. He flies domestic routes two days a week while manager Tim Powell minds the store.
Abbatiello chose the small, below-street-level location (former site of the Sticky Fingers vegan bakery) to keep his high-end merchandise cool. With no sun exposure, he says, "it's a great spot for chocolate, easy to maintain in temperature between 60 and 70 degrees and the perfect size at 300 square feet."
All the better to display his premium stock. For Abbatiello, that would be the Paris-made Chocolat Michel Cluizel single-plantation bars ($6.50 for 3.5 ounces). Known for the company's quality control, Cluizel chocolate is "not just from a region but from a few acres of cacao plantation with influences from climate, soil, even a nearby banana grove," Abbatiello says. For connoisseurs, or anyone who wants to learn about chocolate, there is a variety of bars labeled with the percentage value of cacao: The higher the percentage, the more bitter the chocolate.
For the pampered Valentine, the most expensive gift box ($85) is a 36-piece collection by MarieBelle New York that comes in a crimson-colored, four-tiered box. with the look of snakeskin. The ganache fillings thrill with subtle flavors of saffron, cinnamon, dulce de leche and more. (In a glass showcase feet away, chocolates by MarieBelle and by Alexandria's Christopher's Confections are available for $2 apiece.) For those of equal ardor but fewer funds, for $1 there are 0.35-ounce bars of single-origin E. Guittard. We suggest the Madagascar for its intense berry flavor and smooth texture.
--Walter Nicholls (Feb. 7, 2007)
