One thing I am asked often, since I have so much chocolate to review, is how I obtain what goes into The Stash. Thanks to the Internet, I do have access to shops around the world that ship unique chocolates to my corner of the globe. However, there are issues in some countries where they will only mail out certain items in cooler months to prevent melting in transit. Nonetheless, I persevere through eBay and similar sites that host dealers in gourmet items. It's amusing to wonder how often these delivery trucks have to schedule an oil change for all the back and forth they must do to satisfy people like me.
When I do travel, I make it a point to research possible outlets for chocolate purchases. It doesn't take much to hop in the Acura TL and head up the Eastern Shore to Philadelphia or New York City for the weekend, where renowned and specialized chocolatiers always have something new to sample. Sometimes, too, a shop will miss my radar and I take a detour in my quest. This last trip I made through Central Virginia, for example, required more than a few emergency stops, but luckily I don't need a brake job. Tires, maybe.
My advice, if you wish to become an expert chocolate hunter, is to make room in your itinerary for finding new bars and truffles. Don't necessarily go out of the way to find a place, but if you can integrate a visit into your plans it's good. It's happened to me that I've gone specifically to find a shop only to discover it closed for the day or, worse, absent altogether because the directions were bad. You don't want to embark on a quest that ends in having to call a Houston auto repair shop because your car overheated.
In short, research on the Net, plan ahead, and integrate into your trip. And collect business cards; you'll usually find web addresses for future reference.
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