I bring to you the first installment of “Exciting Eats” by me, Miss Kazan! In this series I will review a restaurant, dish, recipe I’ve made, or dining experience.

Food is one of my passions. To me, food is a way to experience other cultures, showcase creativity, and bring people together. I’ve always loved to eat and try new foods, but in the last few years I have started to love to cook. There is something calming to me about chopping up ingredients and watching separate parts of a recipe transform into a tasty treat.  While I do love to cook, my favorite thing to do is to try new restaurants! I am lucky to live in a neighborhood with a street dubbed “Restaurant Row” with award-winning restaurants by award-winning chefs. Today’s Exciting Eats comes to us from just off of Restaurant Row- a little walk-up window called Bombobar.

The place: Bombobar
Location: 158 Green St, Chicago (attached to Bar Siena)
The treat: S’mores Hot Chocolate

I’ve  taken a seat at Bombobar’s outdoor picnic tables to wait for a reservation at neighboring Little Goat, have glanced at the menu, but never ordered anything. They have a little menu on a black and white board sign outside the window that highlights gelato flavors  and bombolini, Italian doughnuts without holes. Neither of those interested me…. until I saw a picture of their S’MORES HOT CHOCOLATE!!

Ham: Hey, you want a s’more?
Smalls: S’more what?
Ham: No, no do you want a s’more.
Smalls: I haven’t had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?
Ham: You’re killing me, Smalls!
-The Sandlot

It was a cold, brisk, Chicago afternoon- perfect for hot chocolate! There are two specialty hot chocolates to choose from- S’mores and Funfetti. I chose the s’mores. The cashier said, “$10.” I was shocked! That is so much money for a hot chocolate, but I paid anyway. “This better be a huge hot chocolate,” I said to Mr. Shapiro. We waited for a few minutes until the colossal cup came through the window. This was definitely worth my money! The hot chocolate was covered with toasted marshmallow fluff, drizzled with chocolate and caramel syrup, and dusted with crushed graham crackers. On the rim of the cup was a full-sized chocolate doughnut and stuck next to that was a large piece of chocolate biscotti. On top, a small Hersey’s square of chocolate. We couldn’t wait to dig in! We drank the scalding chocolate through a straw and burnt our mouths, so decided to use a little spoon to scoop some of the marshmallow fluff plus hot chocolate and eat it like soup. The hot chocolate was pretty rich, although it was a bit more watery than the hot chocolate at my favorite spot, Mindy’s Hot Chocolate. The marshmallow fluff was very sweet but a perfect combination with the drizzled syrup and hot chocolate. Once the hot chocolate cooled a little bit I drank it out of the straw again. I enjoyed the chocolate biscotti- it was nice and hard. I am not a huge fan of doughnuts and this was a cake doughnut. It had a nice mild chocolate flavor. This was a perfect treat to share between two or even three people on a cold Chicago winter day.

The rating: 4.5/5

Overall Bombobar’s hot chocolate is a must have if you are in the West Loop neighborhood on a cold day. It is a ridiculously decadent treat meant to be shared with another person. The hot chocolate is rich and the toppings make this a super fun treat to eat.