One of my favorite places to go in Asheville is the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. It serves chocolate and coffee....what more could I want, really?! Because I am mostly not eating chocolate during the week, the Chocolate Lounge is a nice weekend splurge. I love the French Broad Chocolate Lounge because they stay open late, they serve vegan chocolate cake, truffles and sipping chocolate and it's a much better environment than a bar. It's a great place for us to take guests when they are in town because everyone loves chocolate (well, maybe there are a few weirdos out there who don't) and it's a great place to just sit around and talk. They have two floors and 3 separate rooms so even though there's almost always a line out the door, you can find a place to sit. They also have live music on certain nights too.
There are some other things I love about the chocolate lounge. They have stevia available for my coffee instead of other nasty artificial sweeteners, they pay a fair wage to their employees, they have a focus on the environment and sustainability and it's a great local establishment that pumps money back into the local economy. It's kind of expensive for us to go to the chocolate lounge but it's definitely worth it and it's a nice, decadent splurge.
When I go to the chocolate lounge, I ALWAYS get the vegan olive oil chocolate cake....AMAZING!! Once again, excuse the terrible picture:
They also have a line of vegan truffles called the Buddha collection, but I can't resist the cake. The truffles are excellent but I just really enjoy the cake more. R usually gets 2 or 3 of the truffles and we both share some of the french pressed coffee. It's just a great way to spend a Saturday evening.