I've discovered some killer cacao out there to blow your mind. In color, appearance and er, oh right taste, try MarieBelle of NYC. Why do New Yorkers get the best of everything? It's not like they deserve it. I spoke to Maire Lieberman, co. owner, on the phone last week to find out what's with the upscaling of this mundane confection founded by an Amish man named Hershey. Marie was gracious w/ her time and reflections on the industry. Seems that this suave entrepreneur was way ahead of the curve when she opened a chocolate and eyeglass shop in NOLITA in the late '90s. Now her chocolate bar/ tea room has become a destination spot and scores of gourmet chocolate shops have opened up all over the city. With flavors like earl grey, saffron and colorful, hand-painted squares that belong in the Guggenheim, MarieBelle www.mariebelle.com is the Tiffany of chocolates.

Just when we thought we'd locked lips with all the lattes out there, along comes hemp to hype things up. From the thrilling first sip, I knew I was in the presense of an excellent elixir from Life Alive in Lowell. As an epicurean adventure seeker, no combination is too ill-construed, too mismatched, too plain wrong to give me pause.
Made with steamed soy milk, vanilla and hemp powder, this is like sipping an oatmeal cookie. And who hasn't had that guilty pleasure? Warm and toasty, without a trace of sugary syrups found in most flavored lattes, it's the go-to pick-me-up when coffee has lost its ennui-lifting allure. Leave it to the organic alchemists in this holy emporium to come up with what Gourmet Gal considers the best new damn drink to hit the barrista bar.

It will not open for a few months, but we want to start this blog off with some upbeat restaurant news.
In June, Patty Stella of Tewksbury, who has 17 years in the restaurant business, plans to open a Mediterranean restaurant on Market Street in Lowell, next to the post office.
The self-taught chef is excited about the interior and plans on breaking up the 2,000 square-foot space in two with a bar that seats 14 and a dining room for 50.
For the interior Stella envisions chocolate brown and Tiffany blue for a Miami feel.
But forget the cosmetics, what about the food?
It may be a Mediterranean restaurant, but Centro will have American, Italian and French influences.
“It’s comfort food, primarily. But very seasonal. In the winter macaroni and cheese will be made with five kinds of cheeses and truffles.”
Our stomach just started to wake up. If she can pull it off, she also mentioned meat loaf with a twist, Stella will have one of the more exciting restaurants in Lowell.
Patrons at the bar can nosh on tapas served all day, including the hard to fill food void between 2:30 and 5 p.m.
“As a chef getting out at 3 p.m. there were never places we could go to eat.”
We don’t know what’s on the drink menu yet because Stella is in the midst of applying for a liquor license.
Her target audience is the empty lofters moving out of Boston, people between 30 and 50, a market that is crying out to be catered to in Lowell.
Stella cooked in La Boniche’s kitchen in the mid to late ’90s, and was the executive chef at the Andover Inn-
“It’s taken a long time, hopefully this will work.”
www.centrolowell.com

Smoked ales and porters, brewed with smoked malt and grains, have traveled from the old-world beer halls of Germany to the anything-goes micro breweries of America.
With deep mahogany hues and a rich, round taste, smoked ales are a smooth customer. West Coast brewers like Rouge in Oregon and Stone in California are starting to bottle smoked porters to add a twist to traditional dark beers.
"The days of loyalty to Budweiser are gone. There is so much going on with beer these days that brewers are trying to come up with the up-and-coming thing," said Rich Daly, head beer guy for Andover Liquors.
And thank God for that. If you haven't perused the beer section at Andover Liquors, you don't know ale. Even if beer isn' t your bag, their 300-plus selection is like a museum of beers. Obscure breweries from Vt, and Cail, Col., w/ cool labels are refreshing to see and try. Let' s put some pressure on the wine-loving owners to hold a beer tasting once in a while! Andover Liquor is on Main Street in the Market Basket Plaza.

Next time you crave cod, try Fish Bones in Chemsford. This new market/rest feels like it was plucked from Seattle. Salmon glistens behind the counter and I can vouch for the crab cakes, they are filled w/ sweet meat not pumped up with bread fillers. Their version of a tuna fish sandwich sounds heavenly. I also like the little bar that looks into the open kitchen. Instead of watching a boring bartender mix martinis, you can see chef Bruno whip up this sig. Mediterranean pasta dish.
Fish Bones, Central Square.

Today Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz said he plans to open 10,000 more Starbucks this year. Lowell better be on the list. We still can’t score a grande Gold Coast anywhere within Mill City limits. A hardship? Maybe not, but it seems like an oversight in Starbuck’s rollout dept. Friends of the bucks, let’s blog em with request for a local branch. I picked out the location years ago: across from DD on Merrimack Street where Advantage Spine Clinic was. It’s perfect, even looks like a bucks. Who's with me?

Three cheers for Wolfgang Puck who decided not to carry
foie gras in his 14 restaurants this week. Right on Puck. For all you gourmands out there who don’t know what you’re eating, let me clear this up: it is a fat liver. To achieve the so-called delicacy, a goose or duck is force fed and restrained from working it off all for your delectation. I haven’t seen foie gras on local menus, but if I did I would not oblidge. My only experience of this gelatinous gray loaf was on my 31 b-day at No. 9 Park. I still remember how my heart tightened that night when I was trying to get to sleep. Anyone have a foie gras forray they'd like to share?

Udupi Bhavan is tucked away in a nondescript strip mall on Middlesex Street. Perfect Indian food, hidden in plain sight! At first I found the location odd, until I realized a giant Indian temple is a few yards away. Good sign. I went over the weekend with my husband because he was having sinus troubles. I thought the peppery, tangy basam soup would help. It did. From the first few sips he was looking happier than he had all day. Made with tamarind peppers and accommodating spices, this potent broth does the trick, whether fighting a cold or not. Make sure you order the spring dosas. These crispy lentil crepes filled with potatoes, cheese and greens are perfectly textured. Way better than any eggroll I've come across. Best when dipped in the spicy sauce and yogurt mint (in that order) that comes with. Udupi is the full Bombay blast.

Has anyone ever had good store-bought sushi? I picked some up last night at Hannaford in Lowell to mixed results. It was late when I swung through and grabbed all that was left — spicy tuna rolls, crab spring rolls, and seaweed salad. The seaweed salad had a nice briny flavor and crunchy texture, but the spring rolls were a little tough and insipid. The spicy tuna I thought tasted pretty clean, but again lacked any real zing. I know a sushi chef works here daily, so why doesn’t this taste better? The real frustration behind this post is the lack of sushi bars in the Greater Lowell axis. After Ichibod closed three years ago, no one has picked up the slack. And there is a lot of slack. Sushi bars are rumored to open on Merrmack Street every few months, but so far it’s "no wasabi for you." What's a gourmet gal to do?
Addendum: Just found out that Wu Loon Ming in Billerica has sushi. Story in April 19th's Step' Out.