Eatable Chocolate Buildings

While walking though Georgetown Park, a shopping mall in Washington, D.C., I was delighted to see miniature building replicas in a window. These were no ordinary souvenir buildings however, they were bitable, chewable, eatable miniature monument morsels. Truffles Belgian Chocolates creates a range of DC landmarks including The Washington Monument, White House, U.S. Capital, and both the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Co-owner Nihad Shabbar estimates they have sold almost 8,000 chocolate buildings since they began molding 6 months ago in November of last year. After they moved their shop form Maryland to Georgetown, customers began asking for something uniquely ‘D.C-ish.’ When Nihad saw some souvenir buildings in a shop she got the idea to create chocolate architecture of D.C. landmarks. Because no molds were available, she had to create her own and they now produce the eatable edifices in their shop. They are popular with both locals and tourists who buy them for event prizes, wedding favors and cake toppers. The largest single order was a request from a hotel for 1,000 buildings. “They’ve become an attraction for the shop,” she said “They bring a smile to faces of customers walking in.” It seems, however, that not everyone paid attention during civics class. She’s overheard people say, ‘Look, they have the White House’ while pointing to the capital building. Made in milk, dark or white chocolate, the most popular seems to be the white chocolate, perhaps because it resembles the white marble of the real D.C. buildings. Nihad said politics can also play a role in popularity. “People who don’t like the president don’t buy the White House, but if they do like him they’ll buy a few.” According to Nihad, additional D.C. buildings will be offered soon. In case you missed them, check out my previous posts about a chocolate city and sweet city. Do you know of any other eatable edifices? Let me know using the ‘comments’ link below.