The Edinburgh Hotel, Vienna Hot Chocolate

Merkel returned to Edinburgh Hotel (aka The Ed) recently. This is not to be confused with the Edinburgh Castle (aka The Ed Castle) which is currently an Adelaide Fringe venue in the CBD of Adelaide. The Edinburgh is tucked away in High Street Mitcham.

Merkel ordered the Vienna hot chocolate after trying both the standard hot chocolate and the iced chocolate on previous visits. The hot chocolate was served in a tall stemmed glass with a handle. It was topped with a good looking swirl of whipped cream and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. It was served on a saucer with a pink and white marshmallow. A Vienna hot chocolate needs to be reasonably rich and chocolaty to counteract the bland cream on top. This one did not quite make the grade. It cost $4.00.

A Little More Light

"A Little More Light" was the pyrotechnic spectacular that was put on by Group F of France for the opening weekend of the Adelaide Festival 2010. A huge crowd assembled at the Southern end of Victoria Park racecourse in front of a backdrop of gum trees. This was an entertaining and cohesive work using lights, fire and fireworks in tight synchronization with a wonderful original music backing.

Victoria Park worked well as a venue with thousands of people making the trek from all directions. The catering was fairly minimal although the free water and glow sticks from sponsors Adelaide Bank and Santos were a bonus. The van from Trak Catering Services was there offering coffees and hot chocolate but the queue was far too long to attract your reviewer.

Smokin Joe's

This is a little snack bar in the corner of Da Costa arcade next to Boston's Café. In the days when smoking in snack bars was legal it did attract some smokers but these days it is smoke free although smokers can still buy cigarettes at the counter. The walls of the snack bar are adorned with an interesting collection of sporting memorabilia. Customers can buy simple sandwhiches and drinks at Smokin Joe's.

The hot chocolate comes with a cup and saucer. It is served with a white froth and a liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder. The flavour is dark but the drink was not sufficiently rich. The cost was probably $3.20.

The Deli

The Deli at 54a George Street Thebarton is a converted old shop and a busy Adelaide Fringe venue just over the road from the Wheatsheaf Hotel. It has lounge chairs and a couple of tables inside and a shaded area out the back where most of the entertainment happens. Live shows performing there are The Deli Burlesque, Sound Cinema and Temple of Venus. The photography exhibition "The Sea of Faces" commences on March 4, 2010.

Currently being exhibited at The Deli is the work of artist Peter Andrews. This is an anarchic and diverse collection of mixed media works. The artist enjoys reusing products sticking "junk" together in different ways. Even the catalogue of artworks is produced on reused paper. If you enjoy this sort of work you will need to get to The Deli before the "Sea of Faces" exhibition is mounted.

The hot chocolate came in the same style dainty cup as was used at Coopers 1862 and the Urban Bistro. It came with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The drink was weak and watery but this was almost totally excused because it came with a sliver of Lindt 70% Cocoa chocolate ensuring that your reviewer did not miss the bittersweet chocolate flavour completely. The cost was $3.50.

Tin Cat Café

The Tin Cat Café has been exhibiting local artists for many years. The Café is spread through a number of rooms and the garden in an old house. The furnishings are the Laminex, vinyl and polished steel of the 1950s and 60s. This is a fine dining experience in an environment filled with character.

The Adelaide Fringe exhibitor at Tin Cat Café is Juniper Darling. She has produced a series of vibrant colourful paintings featuring little girls and a fairytale world. The pictures are enhanced with cut-outs and text. These were not so much expressions of deep emotions but the reminiscences of childhood and an imaginative world.

The hot chocolate cost $3.50. It came in a glass and was topped with froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The chocolate was tasty but your reviewer would have preferred it a bit richer.

Dimi's Gourmet Luncheonette

Merkel went to visit the Tin Cat Café in Kent Town for the Adelaide Fringe and found it was closed on Tuesdays. Fortunately Dimi's was just down the road and open for lunch at 78 Rundle Street, Kent Town. This is a small Café with one table inside and few outside.

The hot chocolate cost $3.20 and came in a glass with a wire handle. The hot chocolate was present with a white froth and chocolate powder on top. The taste was chocolaty and of good standard.

Coopers 1862 Bar & Bistro

Coopers 1862 is another Adelaide Fringe venue. It can be found at 121 Pirie St and also includes The Wine Underground Restaurant and Bar in the cellar. The Bar & Bistro sells a short menu of upmarket dishes and provides good table service and cloth serviettes. The Fringe act performing there is piano led boogie woogie show Rhumboogie which your review missed on this occasion.

The hot chocolate came in a dainty cup and saucer with a white froth and plenty of chocolate powder on top. The taste was good and chocolaty and the drink cost only three dollars.

Urban Bistro

This bistro serves the Queen Victoria apartments overlooking the Victoria Park racecourse on Fullarton Road. The Victoria Apartments are the result of extensive refurbishments of the Queen Victoria Hospital and there is very little evidence left of this history. The Bistro is a spacious table service restaurant with big windows and wonderful outlook over the racecourse with plenty of seating inside and outside.

The hot chocolate cost $4.00 and came in a petite coffee cup. The chocolate came with a creamy froth and ample chocolate powder on top. The drink was thick and rich and the spoon was required to get the chocolate off the bottom of the cup. This was a good hot chocolate but there was just not enough of it.

Sparrow Kitchen & Bar

The evening session of "Gluttony" was better than the afternoon session. They had various Adelaide Fringe artists showing samples of their shows on the big stage and Micky D keeping the audience amused. The short films started around 9:00pm. There was some confusion about whether minors should be at this event. Children under 12 were admitted free to this event publicised as a "General Admission" event but were not legally entitled to view the short films which were unclassified.

Merkel chose the churros and dipping chocolate from Sparrow Kitchen & Bar. This restaurant on O'Connell Street North Adelaide provided a stall at Gluttony with some selected offerings from their menu. The churros delicacy was something that Merkel enthused about at XO Supper Club. This time the dish had not been executed with the same panache. The chocolate was cold and thin. The churros were warm and fresh but did not seem quite as light at the ones at XO. It was still a nice dish but it is in whole different realm when it is made with hot thick Belgian chocolate.

Trak Catering Services

Merkel attended the Adelaide Fringe food and wine event "Gluttony" held in Rymill Park. For $10 you could go in and pay for a number of different foods and sample different wines. At lunchtime it did not seem that Merkel got his money's worth. He could have gone over the road for free to the Garden of Unearthly Delights and choose from a similar range of foods as in Rymill Park. There was no entertainment over lunch and at 2:00pm patrons were treated to some busking similar to that provided all day in the Garden of Unearthly Delights.

Merkel found a hot chocolate in the van of Trak Catering Services. It was a good hot chocolate although it was in a paper cup and cost $3.60. It was topped with a creamy froth and a sprinkle of chocolate. The chocolate was rich and not too sweet.

Georgia Germein at Bliss

Merkel and Myrtle did not know anything about Georgia Germein before attending her Adelaide Fringe performance and Bliss Organic Garden Café. Merkel was attracted to this performance because of the venue. Bliss is an organic Café with a good hippie vibe to it and a number of exotic flavoured hot chocolates. The venue struggled a bit as a performance venue. The Garden was a little small for group of Georgia fans and staff struggled to keep up with food service before the show.

Georgia Germain was a star though. She has mastered guitars, keyboards, vocals and songwriting and still presents as an engaging teenager. She draws on unexpectedly deep experiences in Nepal, the Kalahari and Ethiopia and seems comfortable in front of an audience. She shared the limelight with a couple of friends who joined in on a couple of songs helping to give some variation to the instrumentation but in truth this was a solo performance as Georgia's star shone brightly with the strong support of her family.

Merkel had the "wicked" hot chocolate which was flavoured with cardamom and chilli. It was present in glass with a wire handle and was finished with a froth a semicircle of chocolate powder and some chilli flakes. This was a good taste and cost $4.50. The service was slow and Bliss forgot Merkel's order once and Myrtle's twice.

Bistro and Beyond

This is another venue for the 2010 Adelaide Fringe Festival. It is a big Café with plenty of seats inside and some good wall space for displaying fine art. There was to be an exhibition by Margaret Collier here but the Fringe website has it as cancelled. Still there is an eclectic collection of art still on display and available for sale. The café serves a range of light snacks and more substantial meals. Your reviewer was at a table next to Akmal Saleh, the Australian/Egyptian comedian who is performing in the Fringe.

The hot chocolate was served in a glass with a handle. It was a light colour and was too weak. It was topped with a thin froth a sprinkle of cocoa. For four dollars this should have been a better hot chocolate.

Wilson's Organics

This is another venue for the 2010 Adelaide Fringe Festival. During the Fringe this organic grocery and Café will be hosting "Urban Jungle" which is the work of street artist John Wilanski. Wilson's Organics is a crowded shop with lots of organic goodies so it will be interesting how they fit in these art works. The Café offerings are limited. Merkel had a choice between pumpkin and spinach pizza and mung-bean patties for lunch.

The Hot Chocolate came in a glass with a napkin and saucer. It was topped with a white froth and liberal sprinkling of unsweetened cocoa. The chocolate flavour was earthy and complex and a gritty residue was left in the bottom of the glass. It was not a bad drink, but one that Merkel had to think about the benefits of organic, fair trade chocolate in order to enjoy completely.

Aroma Café, 39 Light Square

Your reviewer ventured to the Higher Ground Art Café in Light Square. It is the week before the 2010 Adelaide Fringe Festival and this is going to be one of the venues. He wanted somewhere for a bite to eat and hot chocolate but the kitchen was not open until 4pm. The next port of call was the Aroma Café just a little further around the square. This is also a fringe venue for theatre productions "LiveFish", "My Name is Rachel Corrie" and "True West". It is also the venue for "Invisible Red Threads" which is an exhibition of porcelain work and jewellery which was open on the day your reviewer attended. The exhibition was well presented and showed many dainty and well-crafted pieces.

Aroma Café is a franchise of coffee shops specialising in serving tertiary education institutions. The light square venue is good example of Café Foyerism. The foyer of the TAFE Adelaide College of the Arts is an impressive spectacle with big windows and walls clad in a shiny metal covering. The hot chocolate was only three dollars but come in a basic paper cup. It was fairly frothy with a sprinkle of chocolate on top. The drink was weak and sweet and not particularly satisfying.

BB's Café, Castle Plaza

BB's Café is chain of coffee shops with about 45 outlets in Australia and 7 in South Australia. Its advertising says that it serves good coffee and gourmet breads. The Castle Plaza outlet is a big café with plenty of seating inside and a few seats outside. It a short distance from Sidewalk Café reviewed recently.

The hot chocolate was available in various sizes. The regular size with marshmallows cost $4.30 and came in ceramic mug with plenty froth and chocolate powder on top. The mug came on a saucer which had white and pink marshmallow on it. The taste was of rich dark chocolate and was not too sweet.

Royalty Snack Bar

The Royalty Theatre at 65 Angas St is a major venue for the 2010 Adelaide Fringe Festival . The Royalty Snack Bar is a standard snack bar by day, and by night it serves refreshments to theatre patrons. Therefore it qualifies as one of the Adelaide Fringe venues where one can get a hot chocolate. The shows on at this venue include Akmal, Jimeoin, Puppetry of the Penis, Spontaneous Broadway and Tripod.

The décor of the Royalty Snack Bar is dated, like the theatre itself but there is comfortable seating inside and out. The hot chocolate was a rich dark chocolaty flavour and came with dark a brown froth with a large circle of white froth on top. This pattern of presentation was also used in Lucia's. The drink was served in a wide ceramic coffee cup and saucer and cost $3.50.

Spats Iced Chocolate

Merkel and Myrtle returned to one of their more romantic venues two days before Valentine's day. Spats, on King William Road, Hyde Park, with its dimly lit red glow and its soft music, is always ideal for supper for two, but not ideal for taking photographs.

Merkel ordered the iced chocolate this time. Spats spares no detail when it comes to extras. The drink was topped with vanilla ice cream, cream, chocolate sprinkles, a segment of pineapple, a slice of orange and a wafer. It was served in a surprisingly plain tall glass with a chocolate freckle on the saucer. The drink was chocolaty and had an ice cube in it. The cost was $6.75.

C'Est Ci Bon Snack Bar

C'Est Ci Bon can be found at 133 Waymouth Street a few doors north of JD's and Marble Bar. This is primarily a takeaway food place but has a few tables inside. It mainly does sandwiches. The hot chocolate and the iced chocolate both cost four dollars.

Merkel decided to have the iced chocolate as it was a hot day and this seemed a very reasonable price. It was topped with vanilla ice cream and a liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder. The drink was made with chocolate syrup and chilled milk in a tall stemmed glass. Some spillage occurred in transit to the table but a saucer and napkins were provided. This was a good standard iced chocolate for a reasonable price.

Fringe Venue List

The list of venues for the 2010 Adelaide Fringe Festival is huge. One criteria that readers might want to consider is where they can get a good hot chocolate while viewing your art or listening to your music. No guarantees from Merkel but here is a list. Any venues that Merkel has already reviewed are linked. Of course many of the other venues might put on refreshments too.

Cafés
Al Fresco East End, 260 Rundle St
Aroma Cafe, 39 Light Square
Bistro and Beyond, 187 Rundle St
Bliss Organic Café, 7 Compton St
Casablabla, 12 Leigh St, Adelaide
Café 23, 23 Jetty Rd, Glenelg
Café Komodo, 118 Prospect Rd, Prospect
Checkmates, 289 Pirie St
Cibo Galleria, Various locations
Dragonfly Bar – Dining
Festival Centre Foyer
Gluttony, Rymill Park
Higher Ground Art Café, 9 Light Square
Najjars, 21-23 O'Connell St, North Adelaide
Royalty Snack Bar
Red Poles, McLaren Vale
Sarah's Sister Sustainable Café, 117 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore
Tango Turtle Art Cafe, Willunga
The Deli, Thebarton
The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Rundle Park
Tincat Café
Wilson's Organics

Hotels & BarsAmbassadors Hotel, 107 King William St
Arkaba Hotel, 150 Glen Osmond Rd, FullartonAustral Hotel, 205 Rundle St
Caledonian Hotel, 219 O'Connell St, North Adelaide
Cathedral Hotel, 45 Kermode St, North Adelaide
Directors Hotel, 247 Gouger St
Electric Light Hotel, 235 Grenfell St
Exeter Hotel, 246 Rundle St
Hotel Richmond, 128 Rundle Mall
First Commercial Inn, 29 Commercial Rd, Port Adelaide
Fringe Bar, Rymill Park
Gallery Bar, 30 Waymouth StGrace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St
Kings Hotel, 357 King William Rd
Maxim's Wine Bar, 194A The Parade, Norwood
Metropolitan Hotel, 46 Grote St
Office on Pirie, 110 Pirie St
Rob Roy Hotel, 106 Halifax St
Shotz Bar, 2/192 Pirie St
Sussex Hotel, 68 Walkerville Tce, Walkerville
The Bull & Bear Bar & Restaurant, 89 King William
The Colonel Light Hotel, 141 Currie StThe Crown and Anchor Hotel, 196 Grenfell St
The Duke, 82 Currie St
The Ed Castle, 233 Currie St
The Gov, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh
The Highway, 290 Anzac Highway, Plympton
The Maid, 1 Magill Rd, Stepney
The Mars Bar, 120 Gouger St
The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton
Tiffin's on the Park, 176 Greenhill Rd, Parkside
Worldsend Hotel, 208 Hindley St
1862 Coopers Bar Bistro, 121 Pirie St

Town Hall Garden Café

This Café does not really have an address. It is listed as the rear of the Adelaide Town Hall, Pirie St on one web site. It is an outdoor paved area in the middle of the Adelaide CBD block surrounded by King William Street, Pirie Street, Gawler Place and Flinders Street and can be reached from any of these streets. All seating is in the fairly picturesque outdoors area under a large pergola. The orders are taken and cooking is done indoors. The restaurant is a bit more expensive than the usual sandwich venue but the meals are more sophisticated.

The hot chocolate comes in a stemmed glass with a handle and is accompanied by pink and white marshmallows. It is served with a good froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The chocolate taste is dark, rich and creamy. This is a good hot chocolate and cost four dollars.

Simply Divine

Tucked away from the main road at 45 Grenfell Street, overlooking the leafy paved area opposite Café Fresh and Rainbow Café your reviewer found Simply Divine. This Café does restaurant style meals as well as light lunches. There are a few tables inside but some wonderful places outside under the huge plane trees.

The hot chocolate cost $3.50 and was served in a pot and a ceramic cup accompanied by white and pink marshmallows. The patron pours the hot chocolate from the pot into the cup. The only other venue your reviewer has encountered which provides hot chocolate in a separate pot is the elegant Spats. It allows patrons to drink out of a dainty cup but still have plenty to drink. The chocolate came with a good froth although pouring it out of the pot does not do it justice. The drink was chocolaty although it was not quite the Belgian chocolate experience. This was a reasonably priced hot chocolate with all the trimmings.

Yummy Choice Sushi

Asian food places are not always equipped with espresso machines capable of making a good hot chocolate, however as Merkel passed Yummy Choice he noticed they also sold espresso coffee and hot chocolate. There were four small tables inside the shop although they obviously were mainly a takeaway shop. It was sufficient to sit and enjoy a sushi and hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate unfortunately came in a paper cup but it was finished with a light froth and sprinkle of chocolate. It was $2.90 for a small drink and $3.50 for a large one. The taste was light and creamy rather than chocolaty. It was pleasant enough on a hot day.

Our Expresso

Our Expresso is a pleasant Café set back from Unley Road under some large gum trees in the car park. It is opposite the Cremorne Hotel and is a pleasant breakfast and lunch place.

The hot chocolate is not listed on the coffee menu but it is available nevertheless at $3.20. It comes in a large ceramic cup finished with an espresso froth and a sprinkling of chocolate powder. It should have been more chocolaty but it was still pleasant to sip with a tasty breakfast.

Taste on Victoria

This Café on the West side of Victoria Square has no seating indoors but has a number of seats on the path and on the square. It does a number of light meals and has a sister shop "Taste on Pirie" that was reviewed earlier. The two "Taste" shops have a resemblance in the menus and décor but are not clones of each other.

The hot chocolate came in a chunky glass with a creamy froth and a liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder on top. The drink tasted pleasant. I preferred the red ceramic cup from Taste on Pirie but the drink on Victoria Square was more chocolaty. The cost of the hot chocolate was three dollars.

This is now on of our disappearing Adelaide hot chocolate venues as it has been replaced by another Cafe.

Iced Chocolate Reviews

The weather has been hot in South Australia so your reviewer has collected a number of iced chocolate reviews from venues he is familiar with.

Café Mondiali, Iced Chocolate
Merkel returned to Café Mondiali on a 41 degree celsius day and sampled their iced chocolate. The drink was $4.50 and came in a tall glass. It was topped with vanilla gelati, whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa. The drink was too milky and this was evident when it was delivered because of the almost white colour of the drink.

Mamma Carmela, Iced Chocolate
Merkel returned to Mamma Carmela's for dinner and an iced chocolate. The drink cost $5.90 and came in a tall glass topped with vanilla gelati, whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa. The drink was made with chocolate milk and chocolate syrup but there was no decorative pattern visible through the glass. The drink was milky and not particularly chocolaty.

Najjars, Iced Chocolate
Merkel returned to Najjars Café for dinner and an iced chocolate. The drink cost
$5.50 and consisted mostly of a dark chocolate syrup and milk. It was topped with vanilla gelati, whipped cream and cocoa. It was served in a tall Coke glass. The drink was not as well presented as some iced chocolates and the taste was very milky in parts.

Metro Bistro, Iced Chocolate
Merkel returned to the Metro Bistro for an afternoon iced chocolate. Your reviewer forgot to ask the price but it was probably about $4.00. It came in would looked like a stemmed glass but it turned out to be clear plastic. It was topped with chocolate gelati and cream. It looked good as it had chocolate syrup making patterns on the inside of the glass. It was a bit warm though. You look to an iced chocolate to cool you on a warm day and it did not seem that the milk had been chilled.

Boston's Café

Boston's Café is a little café in Da Costa Arcade. This arcade runs around the corner from Grenfell Street to Gawler Place. Where the Arcade changes direction are couple of cafes one of which is Boston's Café.

The hot chocolate at Boston Café comes in a good sized Lavazza coffee cup with an ample froth and liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder. Small "Teddy Bear" chocolate biscuit is served with the hot chocolate. The taste is good and creamy. This was a delight after some of the hot chocolates Merkel tasted while travelling to the USA and was all for $3.20.

Cosi, Washington DC

Washington was a cold place in January. Still the snow was a welcome treat and Washington has some great museums. Cosi at the corner of Connecticut Avenue and 20th Street is a well organised breakfast and lunch venue.

The hot chocolate was in the American tradition and therefore was served in a paper cup and topped with whipped cream. This was not as sweet as some hot chocolates and still had a chocolaty taste. The hot chocolate cost US$2.99 (plus tax).

Caribou Coffee, Denver Airport

The Marmaduke family stopped off at Denver Airport on its way between Los Angeles and Washington. Caribou Coffee seemed serious about its hot chocolate. Its advertising claims that it his raised the bar for hot chocolate. It makes its drink from gourmet Guittard chocolate.

The hot chocolate cost US$3.10 (plua tax) and came in a paper cup with a cardboard wrap-around to protect the finger tips. It was provided with a thin espresso froth and its taste was very dark. Merkel added sugar which is almost unheard of for him. This was a good rich hot chocolate. Merkel would have preferred a more creamy texture and of course a ceramic cup would have made the drinking experience better.

GreenZoo Coffee Co, San Diego

The San Diego Zoo must be one of the foremost viewing zoos in the world. It has a huge amount of animals and it is set out in hilly area with rich vegetation. It has a number of eating venues and GreenZoo Coffee Co attracted the interest of Merkel as it was evident that it had an Espresso machine.

The hot chocolate had the espresso froth which Merkel had been missing in earlier USA venues. The drink was however too sweet for the avid chocolate drinker.

Brews Brothers, Universal Studios

The Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood was the next stop for Merkel and his family. The cult movie “The Blues Brothers” was produced at Universal Studios and a coffee shop in the theme park is called “Brews Brothers”.

The hot chocolate cost US$2.69 (plus tax) and came in a big paper cup topped with whipped cream. It was a little sweet but it was a better chocolate flavour than some recent hot chocolates.

Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port, Disneyland

Disneyland has many eating venues. Most have a fairly short menu. Redd Rockett’s in Tomorrow Land was purely self service. A hot chocolate was available at a push of a button.

The drink cost $2.79 and was horrible. Your reviewer is not sure whether you can blame the venue when it self serve yourself, but he did not do anything except press the button. It was too sweet so there was no option of adjusting the taste by adding sugar.

French Market, Disneyland

Readers will note a recent lack of photographs on this blog. The presentation standards of the US hot chocolate are low. Paper cups and a lack of hot chocolates with espresso froths make and uninspiring subject of a photograph. Could a hot chocolate from Disneyland make a difference. The work that goes into presentation of various rides and exhibits at Disneyland is meticulous. Alas, this does not translate to the presentation of hot beverages.

Merkel ordered a hot chocolate at the French Market, a New Orleans themed restaurant in the Disneyland park. Merkel missed what this hot chocolate was worth. It was probably about US$3.00 + tax. It was listed as hot cocoa and it was similar to iHop and Cadburys. It was served in paper cup.