If you venture to Stratford, Ontario and you enjoy chocolate, you must check out the Savour Stratford Chocolate Trail. For $25 you can purchase 6 tickets at the Toursit Information Centre that entitle you to visit 6 of a possible 19 establishments about town and receive a chocolate sample. I did the tour last week with my sister who recently moved to Stratford. She is not a chocoholic so she elected to purchase tickets for the Ale and Bacon Trail instead. Some of the establishments are on both lists.
We started out at a restaurant on her trail for lunch then went to one of mine for dessert. I had a Rockslide Brownie – chocolate brownie and giant chocolate chunks, drizzled with creamy caramel and pecans at Coffee Culture Cafe & Eatery. Our next stop was Olive Your Favourites for Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar and then Kitchen Connaisseur for Chocolate Mocha Sauce for me and a BBQ sauce for my sister. My final three selections were handmade truffles from Chocolate Barr's Candies Inc., a chocolate dipped biscotti from Let Them Eat Cake, and chocolate-covered cranberry almond brittle from Treasures.
Many of the samples are packaged to take away rather than being consumed on the premises. The tickets are good for three days for you can spread your trail out over your visit or you can do more than one trail while you are in town. There is also a maple trail based around Maple Syrup. You receive a brochure listing all the shops/restaurants on your trail outlining what is on offer at each one and a map so you can plan your route.
This self-guided tour is available year round and I'll be doing it again on my next visit – there are 13 places I did not get to on this trip! It was a very hot and humid day so I did not attempt the hot chocolate drink.
