Chocolately Deliciousness in a Cup

There's this little homemade hot chocolate shop near my church that I visit every few weeks to get a piping hot cup of custom hot chocolate. Oh, it is to die for, creamy frothy milk, with shaved chocolate pieces, and fluffs of whipped cream, possibly mixed with coconut, almonds, or hot peppers! Admittedly i've never had the hot pepper one, but a friend says its good :) The shop is called Artfully Chocolate Kingsbury Confections. Their hot chocolate is a little pricey, but it's worth the extra cash as it is especially tasty. I just discovered that they have a location about a 5-minute drive from my house near this fun little area called Del Ray that i've only recently started exploring. Not sure whether the additional location is a good or a bad thing, given that i'm trying to stick to a budget these days and want to stay healthy. But every now and then, it'll be a nice treat to have nearby.

You can check out the menu here:

http://www.artfullychocolate.com/menu.htm

I really like places that are local and that don't try to do too many things, places that focus on a particular novelty or item and b/c they're so focused tend to do it really well. Artfully Chocolate Kingsbury Confections is one of them. Finding spots like this reminds me a little bit of what it might have been like to live in the colonial days, when you knew the man making your shoes, or could pick out fine garments made by local seamstresses. The amount of care and precision that goes into each item makes the quality impeccable, and when such an item is presented in a local setting it literally lights me up. Sadly, we tend to find these kinds of items more regularly in international markets than here in the states, save for street markets and the Saturday Farmers Market (which, by the way, is AWESOME in Old Town). These days, the luxury market has lost a lot of its flavor or hurrah. With stores like Saks or Neiman Marcus, you can certainly get a designer look with lots of TLC from the store staff, but that care and precision and "uniqueness" to each item is simply missing. I like discovering little holes in the wall and local spots that have a glamorous feel, without all the unnecessary bows and whistles and lofty pricetags. Yeah, i'm willing to pay more to have something that is locally handcrafted, or locally prepared. It's just really special when you find a local treat that strikes your fancy. Am I anti-commercial? Probably, pop culture isn't really my thing. Beyond that, though, lets be honest, these local finds often turn out to be so much better than things shipped in and made by the truckload.