L.A. Burdick

47 Main St., Walpole, NH - (603) 756-2882

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Posted By Ron Lewis on 6/23/2012 3:22:00 PM

Yup, this sure is chocolate heaven on earth, but it's far more. The restaurant in the room next to the chocolate shop is, well, angelic! Burdick is arguably the best in New Hampshire, and probably among the best in the other 49 states as well.

Walpole is like a movie set, a small, hidden New England gem of a town, but not exactly on most people's beaten path. The divine food and chocolates are in southern New Hampshire, maybe five minutes from the Vermont border and I-91.

Is it worth the Walpole turn-off if you're nearby? Oh my, yes! This is because Mr. Burdick is an absolute, remarkable perfectionist. He spent a couple of years getting training and experience with multiple famed chocolate chefs in Europe. He came back, opened a shop near Harvard College, and went on to best his tutors from France, Belgium, and Germany. You see, his American chocolates went on to win a European award for the best chocolates in the world. He also went on to open a restaurant and, later, a gourmet food store in the small block he dominates in Walpole, the town he now lives in.

To describe the remarkable foods and desserts he offers would take too long. Besides, the menu changes with the seasons. Complex flavors are its hallmarks. You will find many and varied choices made with the highest level of skill. If you are looking for a low-cost, maybe chain, restaurant, don't go near Walpole. I love Roadfood too, but that ain't the right characterization for Burdick.

If you want an exceptional meal that you'll talk about and remember for a long time, then take a trip into Walpole and enjoy the product of the finest food talents. This at modest prices, too, at least when compared to the famous, big city, multi-star places known by many expense account customers and/or foodies.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Rate this place

"Here are just a few of the gorgeous pastries available at the counter to go, or at a table."
Michael Stern

"I placed a couple of pieces of chocolate-covered ginger atop the flash to try to depict the brilliant zest these candies have. Is their spicy sweetness abetted by a just a faint hint of salt?"
Michael Stern

"Tables in the cafe and here in the chocolate shop are covered with brown paper."
Michael Stern

"Chocolate mice are sold individually ($2.25) or in gift boxes of nine or sixteen."
Michael Stern

"L.A. Burdick is in some ways a small-town candy shop. But the candy it makes is world-class."
Michael Stern

"Stephen says this represents a half portion of L.A. Burdick's monster cup of hot chocolate. " I can't drink one of those without an ice cold glass of water." This one is at the Cambridge, Mass., L.A. Burdick store. (Stephen Rushmore photo) "
Michael Stern

"The L.A. Burdick in Cambridge, Mass. (Stephen Rushmore photo)"
Michael Stern

"The interior of the store in Cambridge looks like the one in Walpole ... and has the same cocoa-perfume smell! (Stephen Rushmore photo)"
Michael Stern

"When you taste L.A. Burdick chocolate, you fully understand why these principles are so important. (Stephen Rushmore photo)"
Michael Stern