As we walked past several storefronts to Myhre’s Deli, we noticed Epiphanie Chocolates (did I mention that the entire little block, with its small corner grocer, a décor shop, and of course, a chocolatier, is utterly charming?).
Never having been able to resist chocolates, we stepped into the small store, and found that its simple but elegant décor (complete with a window seat peppered with brightly coloured cushions) reminded us somewhat of Bling. It turned out the shop’s chocolatier, Debra Fleck, is originally from Edmonton, having opened the business in November with her husband John.
Interior of Epiphanie, with John Fleck in the background
Their focus is on truffles, although other products (such as pop-rock filled guitar moulds, drinking chocolate, and a selection of single-origin vanillas and cocoa powders) can be found on the shelves. The display case held nearly two-dozen varieties, some of them brilliantly decorated in bright, tropical colour coatings or adorned with miniature designs. At $2 each, the prices are comparable with Kerstin’s Chocolates and Sweet Lollapalooza in Edmonton. John offered us a few samples – ginger, earl grey and strawberry, and we found the latter to be our favourite, with a smooth, not overwhelmingly sweet centre, still containing crunchy strawberry seeds.
We decided to zero in on one of their feature items, priced at $2.31 each – the double-smoked bacon truffle. It was covered in a Calgary Herald article just a few weeks ago, along the same lines of an Edmonton bacon-centric article that appeared in the Journal in February. Mack and I were fortunate to have tried Kerstin’s chocolate-covered Berkshire pork bacon last year, so the flavour combination wasn’t new to us. Epiphanie’s version involves double-smoked bacon from Valbella and Davao, a dark milk chocolate from the Philippines. I have to say I loved the little pink pig atop the truffle.
Double-smoked bacon truffles
Just like with Kerstin’s concoction, however, in spite of the salty-sweet interaction, the chewy, almost-crunchy texture of the bacon and the velvety chocolate did not make for a pleasing match, at least for us. It’s definitely worth a try (especially because it is all the rage right now), but the next time I’m at Epiphanie, I think the strawberry truffle will be my treat of choice.
Epiphanie Chocolates
1417 11 Street SW, Calgary, AB
(403) 370-4592
Monday- Saturday 10am-6pm
Only Here for the Food 
Just got back from Portland where a doughnut shop there (Voodoo Doughnuts) puts bacon on one of their maple-glazed doughnuts and although the various components were very good I’d have to say I could have done without the bacon. The shop is notorious enough to have been covered by Anthony Bourdain in a YouTube video. At one of the local Portland upscale restaurants they finished off the meal with a bonus item: chocolate-covered bacon, which again was interesting but not altogether successful.
Jim – whoo, your trip to Portland sounds like it was filled with some interesting treats! Glad to hear we’re not the only ones who don’t love the chocolate-bacon combination.