Category Archives: Farmers and Food Artisans

When my husband and I were twenty-somethings we lived in Fremont. Not because it was cool because in those days it was mostly artists and gays living in neglected houses and apartments.

We lived there because it was cheap rent and on a great bus line to downtown. Fremont was still scrappy with rough and tumble bars frequented by dock workers and bikers (the real kind, not the Microsoft Harley Riders.)

We spent many a night (and every Norwegian Independence Day) at the old Trolleyman – the Red Hook Brewery Alehouse. Redhook was doing for microbrew what Starbucks had recently done for coffee and the Trolleyman was the Mecca of it all.

A victim of it’s own success, Red Hook ended up becoming a publicly traded company before realizing that being owned by the masses meant spreading beer to said masses and they lost touch with their vagabond roots, quirky marketing and endearing ways. They eventually sold out to Anheuser Busch and closed the original Fremont brewing facility.

Today’s field trip was a bitter sweet one to Theo Chocolate in search of some cocoa nibs. Theo has since taken over at least part of the brewery and alehouse space. The space works well for them, although I could still hear the ghostly clink of pint glasses and trivial pursuit games of yesteryear.

Two comfy couches flanked the fireplace and show tables full of chocolate bars were everywhere. In front of each stack was a plate of samples. My mission was clear – a bag of cocoa nibs – but the chocolate samples sucked me in.

We are trying to be somewhat frugal which can be done while eating locally, but requires a great deal of planning and forethought. Those samples though, they beckoned and beguiled. How can you not taste something called Coconut Curry Chocolate? Or Chai Latte? Or Bread and Chocolate? Or Fig, Fennel and Almond?

We had to.

It blew my mind.

The most amazing combinations of carefully roasted artisan chocolate and flavors you never would have dreamt of pairing together. The flavors are individually pronounced and play off one another then blend perfectly like a well crafted symphony.

I snatched up bulk chocolate, bars and nibs. And of course two chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies for the kids. How can you not?

That coconut curry has my number. I just happened to have leftover cauliflower coconut curry soup in the fridge so for dinner I doctored that up with some cocoa powder and agave syrup. It was heaven. A whole bowl full of guilt-free chocolate flavor bomb that I never would have paired together myself.

My mind is swimming with ideas for my newly discovered cocoa nibs – ice cream, cookies, breakfast cereal (my latest experiment in the dehydrator), snack bars, candied nibs, nib lattes, nib pie crust, nib crackers. I have some Theo cocoa nib-lets in the dehydrator as we speak that I can’t wait to wake up to.

What luck for us locavores to have such a morally impassioned artisanal chocolate factory in town!

I wish I could have taken the tour which I’ve been told is well worth it but the Toddler was bent on consuming free samples and running around in large circles pretending to be an airplane so we had to leave as quickly as I could bring myself to.

Theo offers both practical and imaginative classes as well as movie nights and special tastings. You can read about these and more on their blog.

I can’t think of another company that I would prefer to have taken over the Trolleyman, or that I choose to give my food dollars to. Theo epitomizes all that is right with food, community and advocacy.

I’ll be back soon for more Coconut Curry Chocolates…Oh yes, I’ll be back.