Michelle Girasole is the food editor for the Wickford Way Magazine. This article is in the February 2021 issue.

“If it isn’t chocolate, it isn’t dessert,” pretty much sums up my husband, Rich’s philosophy about sweets.  In our house, there is no such thing as a fruit-based dessert, like a pie or tart.  It MUST be chocolate, or why bother?

Now, if you are going to indulge in a chocolate treat, you don’t want settle for the wrapped Halloween candy bar variety.  Our favorite local businesses have got your back. Here is my review of both classic and new chocolate indulgences:

FANCY: The Captain’s Table
Right in the village, there is a magical place for folks who enjoy specialty foods, including chocolates.  They have a decadent selection of the biggest truffles I have seen, like a candy store for adults.  Offering milk or dark chocolate, creme-filled or caramels, turtles or bars, owner Christine Bourget searched the country for the biggest truffles she could find, and chose a delicious, hand-crafted selection that is sure to please.  Or, if you prefer your chocolate icy cold, try their fancy ice cream sandwiches – chocolate brownie cookie w/ vanilla ice cream or chocolate chip cookie with cookies and cream ice cream. View the menu on www.thecaptainstableri.com

SIMPLE: Seacoast Sweets

Just because they like to keep it simple, doesn’t mean you are not in for a high quality treat.  This Rhode Island company – whose owners, Danielle and Kevin Anderson, are North Kingstown residents – makes a variety of big chocolate patties that are filled with real ingredients: from s’mores to coconut, peanut butter to peppermint.   My favorite is the peppermint patty. Wait, no, it’s the peanut butter one…  Oh, I just can’t decide – you’ll just have to try one for yourself.  Order a variety on SeacoastSweets.comfor home delivery, or locally at Flowers by Bert & Peg. 

BAKED: Allie’s Donuts

When I was a little girl, my parents would stop at Allie’s Donuts on our summer drives to the beach, to pick up a dozen donuts to enjoy. I could never decide if the Boston Creme was my favorite – with its vanilla pudding filling and creamy chocolate icing – or the straight-up chocolate glazed.  Fresh baked, doughy and sugary, their donut menu also offers chocolate coconut, chocolate sprinkles and chocolate lemon. (Find them on Facebook.)

CAKED: Gregg’s Restaurant 

There is no way I can write a column about local chocolate treats without mentioning the ‘Death By Chocolate Cake’ from Gregg’s. Imagine a rich, fluffy chocolate cake, with chocolate buttercream frosting – rolled in chocolate chips!  Well, they don’t actually roll the cake, but this is no sprinkling of a few chocolate morsels – it is LOADED. Warning, if you have not yet tried it, I recommend you start with a single slice, because this cake is so huge and massively chocolate, you risk your life by not being able to stop eating it, hence the name.
https://www.greggsusa.com/Menu/Desserts

Michelle Girasole is an NK resident, a mother of two teens and writes a lifestyle blog on her website www.FreshRebellion.com.