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From the L.A. Times
 To appreciate Carmen Botez's love affair with chocolate, one must
travel back to her childhood in dreary Romania, where the only
chocolate she knew came from China, wrapped in red paper and with a
slightly waxy taste.
After the fall of the Soviet bloc, Botez had the freedom to travel and
to taste. And taste she did: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white
chocolate (yes, she considers it chocolate, contrary to many
confectionary snobs), chocolate with fruity, boozy, smooth and nutty
interiors, chocolate mixed with spices.
"People have this idea that chocolate is an indulgence, that it's bad
for you. You hear words like 'guilt' associated with it," said Botez,
32, between sips of – what else? – hot chocolate. "For me, it's not a
dessert thing. It's a food."
And a business opportunity.
Several times a week, locals and out-of-towners gather for one of
Botez's various New York City chocolate tours. You can choose from a
hipster-oriented outing that highlights chocolate sellers in
Manhattan's Lower East Side or stick to the luxury shops uptown. And it
seems nothing, not even bacon, is too odd to mix with the silky, sweet
stuff.
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