Je Ne Sais Quoi: Bay Area Chocolatiers with French Names

Maison Bouche: French for Made in Berkeley?

​Maison Bouche and Au Coeur des Chocolats, a pair of perfectly Parisian-looking chocolatiers, have recently popped up at Miette (1 Ferry Building at The Embarcadero; 2109 Chestnut at Steiner; and 449 Octavia at Hayes). The rather French-spirited confiserie now carries an array of brightly hued bars ($6) in flavors such as violette, geranium bourbon, and basilic au poivre (basil and pepper) from Maison Bouche, as well as caramelized, chocolate-covered almonds and hazelnuts ($5) from Au Coeur. These are luxurious treats that transport.

With no information on the respective packaging -- which, in the case of Maison Bouche's handmade paper design, also looks très Français -- we took to the information highway, only to discover that we don't have to go very far up 80 or down 101 to find 'em: Maison Bouche is from Berkeley and Au Coeur hails from Redwood City. While neither has its own storefront, Maison Bouche accepts online orders and Au Coeur takes them by phone (418-4657 or 650-207-6295). These are pretty much the only ways to sample all of the shorter shelf-life products (such as Au Coeur's truffles) not carried by Miette.