L.A. Burdick Chocolates opening in Georgetown this Saturday!

Inside 1319 Wisconsin Ave, NW. Photos courtesy L.A. Burdick

From an email:

“L.A. Burdick Chocolates will be opening at 1319 Wisconsin Ave, NW in Georgetown this Saturday, March 7.

The location combines a cafe and a store and will offer our full array of European-style artisan chocolates, beverages, and pastries, including our Signature Chocolate Mice, Drinking Chocolate, Chocolate Mousse Cake, among others. We are known for our 33-year tradition of hand-making all our chocolates without using molds, and we look forward to sharing our craft with the DC community.

We will be celebrating the opening with a new chocolate bonbon created exclusively for the new store. In an homage to Washington, DC, it has three different layers featuring cherries: A layer of cherry dark chocolate ganache, a layer of cherry brandy marzipan, and a layer of cherry pate de fruit.

We will also be giving out complimentary hot chocolate on our opening day, March 7.”

Full press release and many mouthwatering photos:

“L.A. Burdick Chocolates, known for its handmade artisan chocolates, beverages, and pastries, will open in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC on March 7. The new store at 1319 Wisconsin Avenue, NW marks the chocolatier’s first location in Washington, DC and joins five other locations in Boston and Cambridge, MA; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; and Walpole, NH.

Founded in New York in 1987 and now based in New Hampshire, L.A. Burdick Chocolates is a pioneer of fine chocolates in the U.S. and is highly acclaimed for its craftsmanship, quality, and creativity. For more than 30 years, L.A. Burdick has been using only natural ingredients, never using artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. The cocoa beans are of superb quality, mostly strains of Criollo and Trinitario varieties from the finest cocoa-growing countries in the world. Flavors to complement the chocolate are taken directly from the source, such as fruits, spirits, and vanilla beans, instead of extracts or essences. A team of chocolatiers then handcrafts each using traditional European techniques. Since its founding, L.A. Burdick has remained unwavering in its devotion to crafting chocolates in the time-honored way – by hand. Never using molds, chocolate bonbons are made individually by hand. L.A. Burdick’s signature chocolates, the Chocolate Mice, are handcrafted through 12 steps over three days. Each Mouse is hand-piped and hand- decorated, giving each a character all its own. No two are alike. L.A. Burdick’s chocolates are a delicious union of the highest level of artisanship and charming inventiveness.

Located in Georgetown, one of the most historic and picturesque neighborhoods in Washington, DC, the 1,600-square-foot, 26-seat location combines a café and a retail store and will offer the full array of L.A. Burdick’s chocolates, drinks, and pastries, including its celebrated Signature Chocolate Mice, Drinking Chocolate, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Pain au Chocolat, and Burdick Cookie.

“Over the years, our stores have become a beloved part of their neighborhoods. They’re filled with wonderful stories and memories. Like the style of our chocolates, our cafés have an old-world charm. They offer comfort, warmth, and a welcome respite from life’s pace,” said Head Chocolatier Michael Klug. “We look forward to welcoming guests to our new home in Georgetown and being a part of the community. We would love to have you in for a treat.”

The shop will carry L.A. Burdick’s various artisan chocolate items, including chocolate assortments, Chocolate Mice, Chocolate Penguins, hot chocolate blends, chocolate bars, caramels, and chocolate- covered fruits and nuts. In addition, the shop will open with a celebratory limited-edition chocolate bonbon exclusive to the location. In an homage to Washington, DC, Klug has created a bonbon with three different layers featuring cherries: A layer of cherry dark chocolate ganache, a layer of cherry brandy marzipan, and a layer of cherry pâte de fruit.

The beverage menu features L.A. Burdick’s Drinking Chocolate, made in dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate varieties. L.A. Burdick’s hot chocolate has been beloved by adults and children alike and acclaimed by critics and customers alike for decades. Made by melting shavings of exceptional-quality Burdick Blend chocolate into steamed milk, chocolate takes center stage in L.A. Burdick’s hot chocolate.

“The Burdick Drinking Chocolate stands out because it does not use anything other than pure shaved chocolate from the best cocoa-growing countries of South America and the Caribbean. It offers a rich, balanced, full-bodied flavor and shows the pristine quality of the chocolate that is in it,” said Klug.

The menu will also include rotating Single Source Drinking Chocolate of the Month. The single-origin hot chocolates offer a tasting tour of the world’s finest cocoa beans from Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Grenada, Madagascar, Peru, and Venezuela with each expressing the unique characteristics imparted by the terroir. The café will also serve teas from the storied French tea house Mariage Frères and coffees made with beans from Devoción, known for its exceptionally fresh coffee beans flown overnight to New York from Colombia. L.A. Burdick will be the only place in Washington, DC to serve coffee from this unique farm-to- table coffee roaster.

The Georgetown location will include a pastry kitchen where various pastries will be baked throughout the day. The pastry menu will feature a wide array of cakes, tarts, cookies, and viennoiseries, all made to L.A. Burdick’s own recipes. The menu is rooted in Swiss, French, and Austrian traditions with classics like Engadiner Nusstorte, Linzer Torte, and Zuger Kirsch as well as novelty pastries. The menu will also include the much-beloved Burdick Cookie, a chocolate chip walnut cookie.

The exquisite chocolates, drinks, and pastries will be enhanced by the beautifully appointed decor. The space stays true to the old-world European elegance and New England charm that is signature to L.A. Burdick stores. The hand-painted wallpapers by de Gournay; maple banquette seating; antique prints of roses, the state flower of Washington, DC; and walls in pink, sage, and gold stripes create a charming setting that reflects L.A. Burdick’s blend of sophistication and whimsy.

To celebrate the opening, L.A. Burdick will be offering a complimentary hot chocolate for all on the opening day. Additionally, the first 25 customers will receive L.A. Burdick’s reusable cotton tote bag and tumbler.

L.A. Burdick will be open Sunday through Wednesday from 8 am to 9 pm and Thursday through Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.”