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The 12 Best Chocolate Shops For Valentine's Day

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As longtime Eater readers know, we are staunch advocates of not eating out on Valentine's Day, that hellscape of high prices, dumb gimmicks, mediocre prix-fixe menus, and general bedlam in the service department. With that said, we know that doing something nice for the holiday is non-negotiable for many folks in relationships, and so we offer an alternative: cook a great meal at home, then gift your Valentine a box of delicious chocolates from one of these 12 local chocolatiers and chocolate shops. You'll both be happier, your wallet will retain elasticity for dining on a non-terrible day, and you'll be much closer to the part of V-Day that folks actually get excited about.

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Dandelion Chocolate

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Pastry chef Lisa Vega is whipping up a killer 18-piece Valentine's truffle box ($55), including Bulleit bourbon, PB&J, Nutella, and passionfruit ganache sweets. Also available on V-Day: three-packs of single-origin bars ($30), Farmgirl flowers ($50-60), and DIY letterpress cards (free from 11 am-3 pm).

Socola Chocolatier

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Surprise your Valentine with a sweet from this chocolatier that only opened its doors on Monday, offering V-Day 12-packs of raspberry-champagne and salted-caramel truffles ($25). For a spicy Valentine, their Sriracha truffles offer a hot encounter at the same price. They're also selling chocolates for a good cause (and at a 10% discount) through SamaHope.

Le Dix-Sept at Biondivino

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Le Dix-Sept Patisserie will be on the scene at Biondivino for V-Day, offering sea salt caramels, chocolate caramels, chocolate nougat, mini chocolate tarts, and other tasty treats. Biondivino will be selling wine, Champagne, and caviar to complement the sweets.

Charles Chocolates

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Chuck Siegel is offering his heart-shaped take on meltaways (in a combo of peppermint, mocha, and raspberry, $25-54), shiny Heart Collection sweets (with mojito, raspberry, and passion fruit, $24-65), and a classic heart-shaped box of old-school chocolates ($36-54).

Recchiuti Confections

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Both Recchiuti locations (the other is in Dogpatch) are offering tons of V-Day confections, like classic and Champagne truffles ($25), burnt-caramel truffles decorated with Creativity Explored artists ($21), and for the very special Valentine, a two-pound, 88-piece monster of a chocolate box ($168).

Poco Dolce Confections

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Poco Dolce has every Valentine's budget covered with affordable $20 boxes of bittersweet, Irish whiskey ganache, and champagne/balsamic strawberry truffles. Or splurge on the $80 V-Day basket, with bittersweet hearts, sea salt caramels, and their signature chocolate tiles.

Christopher Elbow Chocolates

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Elbow's chocolates are as beautiful to look at as they are to eat, with gorgeously painted exteriors that conceal a core of vanilla bean, red-wine caramel, tequila-lime, French lavender, and other intriguing flavors. Opt for an 18-piece box of heart-shaped sweets ($54) or a 20-piece heart box with various sizes and flavors ($40).

Bi-Rite Market

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Michael Mischer Chocolates

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Mischer's Valentine's chocolate assortments come in classic (caramel, champagne, peanut butter) and adventurous (chipotle, root beer, cherry) combinations, both in hot pink boxes. They're $32 for 12 or $75 for 36.

Though it's not doing truffles, TCHO is offering cute Valentine's packaging for its bar sets, including a tub of 50 itty-bitty milk chocolate bars ($30) perfect to put in easy reach of a Valentine's desk for an afternoon pick-me-up. Boxes of tiles ($17-45) come with tasting notes to get Valentines educated on the nuances of chocolate.

Chocolate Covered

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For those who'd rather select their own assortment of chocolates than take home a pre-packaged box, this Noe Valley shop has you, well, covered, thanks to its selection of more than 300 bars, truffles, and other treats from around the globe.

Fog City News

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The name isn't really indicative of this newsstand's true passion: chocolate. With hundreds of bars, truffles, and bonbons from around the globe, it's a good choice for putting together a custom lineup for a special someone.

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Dandelion Chocolate

Pastry chef Lisa Vega is whipping up a killer 18-piece Valentine's truffle box ($55), including Bulleit bourbon, PB&J, Nutella, and passionfruit ganache sweets. Also available on V-Day: three-packs of single-origin bars ($30), Farmgirl flowers ($50-60), and DIY letterpress cards (free from 11 am-3 pm).

Socola Chocolatier

Surprise your Valentine with a sweet from this chocolatier that only opened its doors on Monday, offering V-Day 12-packs of raspberry-champagne and salted-caramel truffles ($25). For a spicy Valentine, their Sriracha truffles offer a hot encounter at the same price. They're also selling chocolates for a good cause (and at a 10% discount) through SamaHope.

Le Dix-Sept at Biondivino

Le Dix-Sept Patisserie will be on the scene at Biondivino for V-Day, offering sea salt caramels, chocolate caramels, chocolate nougat, mini chocolate tarts, and other tasty treats. Biondivino will be selling wine, Champagne, and caviar to complement the sweets.

Charles Chocolates

Chuck Siegel is offering his heart-shaped take on meltaways (in a combo of peppermint, mocha, and raspberry, $25-54), shiny Heart Collection sweets (with mojito, raspberry, and passion fruit, $24-65), and a classic heart-shaped box of old-school chocolates ($36-54).

Recchiuti Confections

Both Recchiuti locations (the other is in Dogpatch) are offering tons of V-Day confections, like classic and Champagne truffles ($25), burnt-caramel truffles decorated with Creativity Explored artists ($21), and for the very special Valentine, a two-pound, 88-piece monster of a chocolate box ($168).

Poco Dolce Confections

Poco Dolce has every Valentine's budget covered with affordable $20 boxes of bittersweet, Irish whiskey ganache, and champagne/balsamic strawberry truffles. Or splurge on the $80 V-Day basket, with bittersweet hearts, sea salt caramels, and their signature chocolate tiles.

Christopher Elbow Chocolates

Elbow's chocolates are as beautiful to look at as they are to eat, with gorgeously painted exteriors that conceal a core of vanilla bean, red-wine caramel, tequila-lime, French lavender, and other intriguing flavors. Opt for an 18-piece box of heart-shaped sweets ($54) or a 20-piece heart box with various sizes and flavors ($40).

Bi-Rite Market

Michael Mischer Chocolates

Mischer's Valentine's chocolate assortments come in classic (caramel, champagne, peanut butter) and adventurous (chipotle, root beer, cherry) combinations, both in hot pink boxes. They're $32 for 12 or $75 for 36.

TCHO

Though it's not doing truffles, TCHO is offering cute Valentine's packaging for its bar sets, including a tub of 50 itty-bitty milk chocolate bars ($30) perfect to put in easy reach of a Valentine's desk for an afternoon pick-me-up. Boxes of tiles ($17-45) come with tasting notes to get Valentines educated on the nuances of chocolate.

Chocolate Covered

For those who'd rather select their own assortment of chocolates than take home a pre-packaged box, this Noe Valley shop has you, well, covered, thanks to its selection of more than 300 bars, truffles, and other treats from around the globe.

Fog City News

The name isn't really indicative of this newsstand's true passion: chocolate. With hundreds of bars, truffles, and bonbons from around the globe, it's a good choice for putting together a custom lineup for a special someone.

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