stacy michelson..no caffeine needed.

I LOVE CHOCOLATE. visiting my friend’s new chocolate factory in Raleigh, NC was heaven. Videri=the best chocolate i’ve ever had…mmm.

Videri is so awesome. My friend Starr and her super cool husband Sam Ratto opened Videri last December. It’s in downtown Raleigh, across from the famed The Pit BBQ restaurant, where a picture of Bobby Flay hangs on the wall to show his approval. I got insane BBQ tofu there, but that’s another story/blog post..Anyway, my friend Allison and i had fun “working” there one afternoon, which really meant eating chocolate and helping package and number bars, meeting the crew and learning the process. The facility is nut-free (which is rare and awesome for people with allergies), they use great beans and organic ingredients, 3 outta the 4 bars they currently make are vegan (me and allison were SOOO stoked on this), and they do it all themselves, right there under one roof! They even let you tour the facility anytime (which is incredibly beautiful and part of the old train depot) and will teach you how it goes from bean to bar, you can smell the incredible aroma in there from outside the front door, the staff is sweet and helpful, and there are free samples of all the bars. Are you booking your ticket to Raleigh yet?