Valentine's Day is here, which means that unless you're forever alone, you've got to go find a gift for your significant other. Everyone seems to believe that their own girlfriend or boyfriend is the hardest person to buy for on the planet, but you don't exactly have to get creative to make someone happy on Valentine's Day.
Everyone loves something sweet, especially of the artisan, hand-crafted variety, which makes these five last-minute stops perfect for pleasing your Valentine when you're totally out of time and ideas.
Chocolate Secrets (above) People are drawn to fancy, hand-painted bonbons like moths to a flame, and the selection at Chocolate Secrets has something to please anyone who enjoys putting delicious chocolate in their mouths. If you're feeling particularly fancy, check the case to the right of the register, which is filled with imported French chocolates, like an adorable little mug-shaped Cappuccino chocolate and bittersweet truffles. If all else fails, a few chocolates and a good bottle of wine will make anyone smile on the world's most contrived holiday.
Like Chocolate Secrets, Kate Weiser Chocolates in Trinity Groves specializes in beautiful, handpainted truffles in ridiculously delicious flavor combinations like sweet potato, banana caramel, and liqueur-filled truffles. Splurge on a box of fifteen, which is a relative bargain for $35 when you consider that the damn Vermont Teddy Bear Company 50 Shades Of Grey bear (complete with handcuffs!) is a cool $100. The hot-pink truffles filled with a half-shot of Moet & Chandon rose Champagne will show your V-Day date just how classy you are, even if you just met them on Tinder.
This chocolate shop is a little rough around the edges, but folks who love deep, dark chocolate will appreciate Katherine Clapner's delicious confections. The anatomically-correct hearts constructed from chocolate are probably all sold out by now, but maybe you'll luck out and find out that some poor sucker got his actual heart broken before he could pick up his chocolate heart. Even if they're all gone, the selection of truffles infused with weird ingredients like mushrooms and bleu cheese will more than do in a pinch.
This Bishop Arts shop specializes in old-school European truffles and beautifully sculpted chocolate. The painted, sculpted chocolate high heels are a good gift for a shoes horse who won't have a problem taking a bite out of the perfectly-tempered shoe. The chocolate barks here are also stellar, especially when paired with a decent bottle of red wine or bubbly. Grab a box of the specially-made Valentine's Day ganache-filled skulls for your punk-rock partner.
Central Market If all else absolutely fails, Central Market is a safe bet. It's open later than any of the other aforementioned chocolatiers, and offer a damn fine selection of chocolate bars and baked goods. Pick up a few obscure chocolate bars, like Vosges' Mo's Bacon Bar, or Wild Ophelia's Beef Jerky Chocolate, and splurge on the wine. After a few bottles, your partner will probably forget that you didn't have time to get them a gift from anywhere else other than a grocery store.
