Chocolates
* Lee Gelfond Chocolate: A 16-inch-high chocolate Cupid with a 12-inch chocolate bow gives you an idea of this high-end chocolatier, where the chocolates are not only delicious but beautiful. You can get chocolate slippers, top hats, swans and roses. (Decorative chocolates, $10 to $250.) Lee Gelfond Chocolate, 275 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 854-3524.
* Leonidas: This business, open just three months, imports 90 flavors of Belgian chocolates, including an exclusive import, dresse noisette, the ultimate in milk chocolate (you have to ask for it; it’s kept in the back, away from the light). (Chocolates, piece, 66 cents to $1.30; pound, $21.95.) Leonidas, 201 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 860-7966.
* Teuscher Chocolates: People travel miles for this corner shop’s Champagne truffle: dark chocolate truffle and Dom Perignon creme in a Swiss milk chocolate shell dusted with powdered sugar. (Chocolates, piece, $1 to $1.50; pound, $49.) Teuscher Chocolates, 9548 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills, (310) 276-2776.
* Atelier de Chocolat: After leaving Godiva chocolate some 13 years ago, Ben Gaffney opened this quaint shop in Ventura. He sells a combination of American and Belgian chocolate with a variety of fillings from creams to nuts to jellies. One specialty is the “dino-pawâ€--a large square of of milk chocolate filled with big chunks of caramel and pecans. (Chocolates, piece, 45 cents to $2.50; pound, $8 to $15.) Atelier de Chocolat, 442 E. Main St., Ventura, (805) 648-5937.
* Comparte’s of California: In business more than 50 years, this shop is famous for hand-dipped fresh or glace fruits, the most popular being the glace apricot covered in dark chocolate. It carries countless other items. (Chocolates, piece, 70 cents to $1; pound, $18.50.) Comparte’s of California, 912 S. Barrington Ave., Brentwood, (310) 826-3380 or (800) 213-6485.
* Edelweiss Chocolates: It’s said Frank Sinatra often stopped here for maple creams. Although it’s most famous for light, mousse-like homemade marshmallows, which come in seven flavors, there are more than 60 other chocolates to choose from. (Chocolates, pieces sold by weight; pound, $23.) Edelweiss Chocolates, 444 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 275-0341 or (888) 615-8800.
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