still eating Vosges

As I mentioned before, I bought 4-piece boxes of Vosges chocolate truffles to serve as wedding favors, for a wedding I attended a few weeks ago in Las Vegas. There is a "longer story".

Several weeks before the wedding, I called the Vosges headquarters to ask if I could pre-order the favors and have them shipped to the Las Vegas store. I was told that if I placed the order that way, I would still have to pay the shipping fees, and that it would be more cost-effective if I went directly to the Vegas store and purchased the chocolates on the spot. Additionally, that would allow me to choose specific flavors, assuming they were in stock at the store.

The wedding was on Saturday, so on Friday morning, I walked from the Bellagio to the Forum Shops to buy the chocolates. (It was nearly 100 degrees that day, so even though the two hotels are adjacent, it felt like a long walk.) I arrived shortly after the scheduled opening time of 10am, but the store was still closed. No problem, I figured they were running late.

By 10:45am I was getting annoyed. Finally, I called the Vosges headquarters in Chicago and asked them if their Las Vegas store was supposed to be open yet. They confirmed that it was and said they'd look into it. I left my name and number and asked them to call me when they figured it out.

Around 11:10am, I noticed someone opening the store, and hurried over. The salesperson (her name was Julie) apologized for the delay and said that the person who was supposed to open the store had never showed up, so the office in Chicago had called her to come instead. I felt kind of bad for her having to work on her day off, and apologized back. As a result we got along great, despite the rough start. (Chicago actually called her after the store opened to confirm that it was open and to make sure we had connected.

Throughout the time that she was assisting me, Julie was consistently friendly and helpful, even giving me samples of the truffles to help in my selection process. She was patient with my complicated order (she had to tie bows on 15 boxes, and number the boxes so I could keep track of which chocolates were in which box), and even gave me a complimentary box of truffles at the end, as an added apology.

I think that episode was a classic example of how exemplary customer service can really turn things around. I went from having a horrible impression of Vosges service to having a great one, due to Julie's handling of the situation, and as a result I will continue to buy Vosges chocolates, and to recommend them to friends and family. Everyone wins!

Anyway, that aside, between the samples, the favors themselves, the free box, and the couple of additional bars that I bought, I got to try lots of new flavors, and I've recorded my impressions here, in rough order of goodness.

First, the truffles:

Black Pearl: ginger + wasabi + dark chocolate + black sesame seeds

I've actually had this one many times before. It was excellent, just as I remembered.

Siam Citron: jasmine tea + lemongrass + fresh coconut + white chocolate + organic marigold petal

I think this is my favorite white chocolate truffle from Vosges. The tea flavor was quite strong, which balanced the sweetness of the white chocolate. The lemongrass was more of an aftertaste but was noticeable (and pleasant).

Summertime Love: dark chocolate + coconut, cafe au lait + white chocolate + cocoa powder

This pair of two truffles was available only for the summer, so of course I had to try it. The dark truffle had lots of coconut, which is unusual for Vosges. It was not bad but not that memorable. The light one was delicious, with a strong coffee flavor. It barely tasted like white chocolate at all, which is a plus in my book.

Rose Vert: tarragon + rose water + 65% dark chocolate + organic red rose petal

The initial taste was very flowery, with the tarragon coming in later. I liked it quite a bit; the flower taste would have been too much with a milk chocolate but the dark chocolate was bitter enough to offset it.

Jazz: cafe du monde & chicory coffee

Surprisingly, in comparison to the white Summertime Love truffle, this one did not have as much coffee flavor; it was much more subtle. Good, but not great.

Tian Nacu: Mexican vanilla bean + Venezuelan dark chocolate

I thought the vanilla flavor didn't stand out enough, or maybe the vanilla and dark chocolate didn't mix well and the flavors were too distinct? Overall it was a bit nondescript and was not a favorite.

Ambrosia: macadamia nuts + Cointreau + white chocolate

I thought there was not enough mac nut in this one. Not bad, but not that creative, either.

Rap: horseradish + lemon zest + praline + cocoa nibs

I expected to like this one a lot, but unfortunately I didn't. For once, the flavors did not blend well. The first taste was lemon, the last one was the praline, and there was not much horseradish at all.

Hip-Hop: Krug champagne + edible gold leaf + white chocolate truffle (33% cocoa butter)

This one sounded good (champagne + chocolate!) but it was way too sweet for me. It was very creamy and buttery, with a definite champagne taste.

The bars:

Habana: organic deep milk chocolate + crunchy plantains, 45% cacao

I usually love savory chocolate, so I was intrigued by the description, "Ecuadorian plantain chips", but this one was too salty; even more so than Mo's Bacon Bar.

Creole: New Orleans style chicory coffee + cocoa nibs + Sao Thome bittersweet chocolate, 70% cacao

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I found this bar too bitter. I liked the cocoa nib bar that I'd bought from Fleur de Cocoa a few weeks ago much better.

Organic Peanut Butter bonbon: organic deep milk chocolate + a soft, peanut butter center, 45% cacao

I was not a fan at all. The bar that I'd bought looked a bit oxidized, which probably didn't help, but I also disliked the soft (and too gooey) peanut butter layer.

So, my favorite truffle remains the Kaffir Lime (with the Sale del Mare and Black Pearl close behind), and my favorite bar, the Goji berry bar. I look forward to trying the Matcha bar, though.