Union Square Donuts’ Belgian Dark Chocolate doughnut is at the Taste of Chocolate Festival this weekend in Harvard Square. (Photo: Union Square Donuts)
The annual Taste of Chocolate Festival is back this weekend in Harvard Square for its 16th year.
The hallmark of the weekend is the free chocolate tasting event, held this year from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday on Brattle Street between Eliot and Church streets. Chocolate samples will be distributed by Amorino Gelato, Bar Enza, Blackbird Doughnuts, Dunkin’, The Harvard Coop, Le Macaron Cambridge, Noir, Painted Burro, The Sea Hag and Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream, as well as the Off The Beaten Path Food Tours and DoubleTree Suites by Hilton. BerrySweets will sell its chocolate-dipped strawberries.
Grooversity, a Brazilian drumming network, will perform during the hour, before DJ Joey Finnz takes over until a street party ends at 4 p.m. Commonwealth Wine School will host a Winter Chocolate and Wine Garden featuring spiked mocha lattes supplied by Howie’s Spiked.
The fun doesn’t end Saturday. The festival, dubbed a “three-day chocolate extravaganza,” includes special menu items at restaurants across Harvard Square all weekend:
At Bar Enza, a gianduja terrine with salted caramel (gianduja is a chocolate hazelnut spread – known to many by its ubiquitous brand name Nutella).
The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar has two special truffles on offer: Mayan dark chocolate with cinnamon and cayenne pepper and white chocolate Key lime, plus a mocha semifreddo.
Union Square Donuts has its usual classics – Belgian Dark Chocolate and Boston Cream – plus seasonal specials White Chocolate Mousse, Cheesecake Brownie and Black Forest.
There are also specialty chocolate-inspired cocktails:
Grendel’s Den Restaurant & Bar will servea Berry Berry Extra-ordinary cocktail with Meletti dark chocolate liqueur, raspberry vodka and Bailey’s for $9, a steal for Cambridge cocktail prices.
The Hourly Oyster House has dubbed its cocktail Universal Heartbeat, perhaps a nod to chocolate lovers everywhere, with Heaven’s Door bourbon, crème de cacao, Banyuls and angostura.
Grafton Street Pub & Grill is offering two speciality cocktails: Mexican Hot Chocolate with tequila, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, arbol chili and oat milk; and Fraises de Chocolat with vodka, crème de cacao, Fraise de Bois and simple syrup.
Grafton’s sister restaurant Russell House Tavern has its own speciality cocktail called Golden Ticket, with vodka, crème de cacao, Frangelico, Irish cream and a bonus: One lucky orderer will get a Grafton Group gift card with their drink.
A recently opened Painted Burro offers two cocktails plus four sweet items, including a take on the ice cream truck favorite Choco Taco.
Le Macaron Cambridge is running a10 percent discount on any purchase of a chocolate item all weekend.