The air is cool, the streets half empty on a weekend day and the holiday season smell is in the air: a perfect time for a chocolate run.  The cool air will keep the chocolate solid as it makes it's way home in my bikes storage pack during the 20 mile ride. 

My favorite place to get chocolate is Chatham's Chocolates .

I live on the north side of the Phoenix Mountains Preserve so the trip starts at dreamy draw swirling past the dozens of hikers readying to hike Piestewa Peak (formerly a better sounding Squaw Peak) and other exhausted walking to their cars, wobbling as if drunk but only tired or still getting over the oxygen reduced heights of the Peak. 

Then down Dreamy Draw and the Pointe, through North Central Phoenix streets and down the dusty but sparsely used (this day) Murphy's Bridle Path .

Before reaching the destination I rode through the curving streets of Windsor Square then Medlock Place before heading to Chatham's where it's customary for me to look in silence at the various grams of chocolate on the shelves: most of the graphic design are as pleasing as the taste delicious. 

One of the new discoveries is not a chocolate bar but a coffee bar.  What's the difference?  It looks like a chocolate bar and it has cocoa butter in common but it's made of coffee beans instead of cocoa beans: it's made by Caffe Acapella: the best ones are Espresso Serenade and Cappuccino Connoisseur because they embody the best flavor.  There is one bar with toffee but the toffee interferes with the wonderful flavors of the coffee bar.  This is one of those sweet tastes that will amaze with the taste sensation. 

Several of the producers have milk chocolate bars that vary only in the origin of the cocoa bean and despite being milk chocolate all around the differences in taste are subtelly there.  I love milk chocolate but the selection of dark chocolates is even better.

Anyway, half a kilo of chocolates in the bike pack: a return trip was quick despite being more up hill then down and the wind of the changing weather adding resistance to my ride, especially through the mountains. 

Next time maybe a bread run?  There are some great bakeries in central Phoenix usually visited by me by car but I may just take the bike next time, but will a whole 3 pound 7 grain sandwich loaf fit?  We'll see in the next episode of Urban Bike: Eats Phoenix Edition

Chatham's Fine Chocolates (fine indeed) 

114 West Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ 85013