Steph C.
Yelp
Several years ago, some poor kind soul gave my parents a box of John Kelly Chocolates, which they immediately relinquished to me and Matt B. We'd received a handful of their reject chocolates and other gifts before, but had no idea what we were getting when they handed us that box. Let's put it this way: if life were like a box of John Kelly Chocolates, every day would be the best damned day of your life.
Matt and I aren't even that into chocolate. Before we joined the John Kelly hive, we never kept chocolate in the house. Now we get boxes for Valentine's Day, anniversaries, and whatever other occasions we feel like, and since we eat them at a pace of about one piece every two or three days, we have a box going about a third of the year. The chocolates are just so good. We get the double-tier signature box, which comes with two each of their twelve bestselling chocolates: dark chocolate espresso, semi-sweet chocolate with walnuts, semi-sweet chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter, dark chocolate with walnuts, dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate with raspberry, white chocolate vanilla with walnuts, semi-sweet chocolate and caramel with Hawaiian Alaea sea salt, dark chocolate with French grey sea salt, peanut butter with Himalayan pink salt, and walnut caramel clusters with Mediterranean sea salt. My favorites are the raspberry and the espresso, but they're all winners.
Each one ends up costing more than $4, but they're decadently delicious and big enough to share, like three or four good bites a piece. We often split one when we sit and relax after the kids go down, and they make a small but satisfying end-of-day treat.
We usually get our boxes delivered, but I went to the physical store for the first time to pick up chocolates for Father's Day. It was a quick, pleasant stop, even with my toddler on my hop, with easy street parking and friendly service. The shop was small and inviting, attractive and chock full of chocolate. There were even a couple of samples on the counter, nibbles of the Alaea sea salt chocolate and the dark chocolate bourbon, which I hadn't tried before. I picked up our usual box and a small box of the Alaea sea salt chocolates as a gift for my friend, who I was visiting for lunch.
Because of course John Kelly Chocolates make great gifts. I don't get them for my parents, but they're a nice option for most other people. I've taken boxes to friends in Japan, and I always look forward to giving and receiving them within my own home. Our life is just sweeter and richer with a box of these chocolates at hand.