Las Vegas didn’t get the nickname “Sin City” because of the chocolate indulgences it offers.
But it could have.
Ethel M was first on the scene with its chocolate nuggets filled with bourbon, Scotch or Irish whiskey – not mere flavors of those potent potables, but the actual elixirs. Ethel M’s may have been the first chocolates that required an I.D. to purchase.
Today, the company still offers tours of its production facility, and also has a number of “chocolate lounges” around the city, including one at the Fashion Show Mall. 800-471-0352.
If you’d like to experience chocolate as art, head to the Bellagio and stop by Jean-Philippe Patisserie, where a floor-to-ceiling fountain pours three types of chocolate through 25 suspended glass vessels at the rate of 120 quarts per minute. When you’re done gawking, order a slice of white chocolate cheesecake. 702-693-7111.
You can build an entire meal around chocolate at Payard Patisserie, located inside Caesars Palace. For $45, a fixed-price menu includes a cheese and fruit course, a coffee, a caramel and nut course, an orchard course and a chocolate course. 702-731-7292.
Finally, at Wynn Las Vegas, a chocolate lover can ride their sugar high from a shop called, simply, Chocolate, to a Valrohana chocolate souffle at Daniel Boulud’s Brasserie and then to a bitter chocolate cream napoleon with milk chocolate ice cream at Alex Stratta. 702-770-7000.
And remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas… except, perhaps, that post-chocolate feeling of snugness around the waist.
