Home-Town Favorites for Valentine’s Day

Looking to score extra points on Valentine’s Day? Skip that box of prewrapped chocolates from the drugstore and head to one of these North Shore favorites. You’ll get better quality, more interesting choices, and personalized service—all while supporting your local chocolatier.



Harbor Sweets
If your sweetie likes all things nautical, you cannot go wrong with Sweet Sloops, an addicting confection of toffee, pecans, and white and dark chocolate. There are many other sea-themed chocolates available from the tiny Harbor Sweets factory in Salem, and they can be purchased in almost every North Shore town, including Shubie’s in Marblehead, Henry’s in Beverly, The Partridge Tree Gift Shop in Danvers, Connolly’s Pharmacy in Hamilton, Bruni’s in Ipswich, LuLa’s Pantry in Rockport, and Valentine’s in Newburyport.

85 Leavitt St, Salem
(978) 745-7648
www.harborsweets.com



Pride’s Crossing Confections
This converted train station on Route 127 is the place to go if you need gifts for a variety of tastes. The shop is jam-packed with everything from bags of chocolate covered potato chips and pretzels to cases of fudge, truffles, soft-centers, and white chocolate-covered confections. Don’t miss the famous turtles (seven varieties) and buttercrunches, all hand-made on premises.

590 Hale St, Prides Crossing
(978) 927-2185
www.pridescrossingconfections.com



Stowaway Sweets
It doesn’t get much more charming than this tucked-away shop in a former mansion, where the chocolates are extremely high quality and you can select each piece that goes in the box. Do not, under any circumstances, skip the meltaways.

154 Atlantic Ave, Marblehead
(781) 631-0303
www.stowawaysweets.com



The Cocoa Belt
This elegant shop is a new favorite, both for its selection of delicious truffles in sophisticated flavors like black forest, cappuccino, and champagne and its ability to improve on perennial favorites like peanut butter cups and scotch kisses.

58 Maple St, Danvers
(978) 774-4332
www.thecocoabelt.com



Turtle Alley
Known for its luscious turtles, this local maker also stocks an impressive supply of fruit slices, caramels, and fudge. We are especially fond of the kicked-up versions, including spicy peanut butter cups and almond chipotle turtles.

91a Washington St, Gloucester
(978) 281-4000
Museum Place Mall, Salem
(781) 740-0660
www.turtlealley.com

Bringing the Corner Deli Back to Danvers Square

When you hear the phrase “corner deli,” you might think nostalgically of the days before computers and cell phones. But the truth is, this type of establishment has more relevance than ever for today’s busy shoppers.

Late last year, John Gross opened Danvers Fresh Marketplace one block from the center of Danvers Square, bringing produce from his Chelsea-market business and adding a selection of bakery, deli, and gourmet products.

The produce is the star in this relatively small space—carefully laid out groupings of vegetables and seasonal fruits, nothing past its prime or bruised. A table near the door holds specialty items; on a recent visit, there were last-of-the-season berries, persimmons, figs, and concord grapes. Nearby was a large table of good-looking sugar pumpkins for $.75 each. (Weekly sale items are listed on the store’s Web site.)

Also by the door is a small deli counter with a huge selection of Boar’s Head meats plus cranberry walnut chicken salad, bean salad, ham salad, dips, and cut fruit. Sandwiches are made to order, and deli platters are available. In front of the case is a selection of half loaves from West Concord-based Nashoba Brook Bakery.

In the back corner is an immaculate salad bar featuring the usual suspects along with less common items like grilled chicken, ham, artichokes, feta cheese, banana peppers, and sunflower seeds. Nearby are kettles of soup from Chelsea-based Kettle Cuisine ($2.69 small, $6.99 large). Manager Andrea Harry suggests coming early if you want soup—lunchtimes are busy, and many selections sell out.

Whether you stop in for lunch or a produce run, you may want to seek out a few of the store’s other treats. In the dairy case are small containers of Rachel’s yogurt, which come in exotic flavors and are creamier than other low-fat yogurts. Near the soup kettles are bottles of Il Moretto olive oil from Sicily and small jars of Christopher Ranch garlic, ginger, shallots, and pesto. Last but not least, tea breads from The New Salem Tea Bread Company in Amherst are near the register. We tried the apple cinnamon—not inexpensive at $5, but hard to distinguish from homemade.

Although it would be great to see a few more local products in the store, we give John Gross and his team high marks for bringing back the corner deli—and making it better than ever.

Danvers Fresh Marketplace
17 Elm St, Danvers
(978) 774-2756
www.danversfreshmarketplace.com

Sweet Times in Danvers

Wandering around Danvers Square last weekend, we were surprised and delighted to discover two terrific places for after-lunch treats, one newly expanded and one new to us.

Goodies has been serving up ice cream for six years, but we’d never been inside and were delighted to find a 1950s-style décor with a wonderful selection of ice cream, soda-fountain drinks, and desserts. In addition to flavors like chocolate peanut butter chip, falcon crunch, and chocolate walnut, there is yogurt, sugar-free, soft service, and sherbet, plus fun candy toppings. We tried two seasonal flavors, including pumpkin (think pie) and apple crisp (with great caramel flavor). Prices range from $2.59 for an itty bitty to $4.61 for a large.

We’re planning a return trip to sample some of the shop’s other offerings like freshly filled cannoli, churros, chocolate-chip-cookie sandwiches, and, of course, the fried dough sundae.

Just down the street The Cocoa Belt is newly expanded, run by Theresa and Mark Whitman. Theresa was there with her adorable four-month-old the day we visited, and she couldn’t have been more welcoming. The shop features a line of fresh-made, hand-dipped chocolates ($21.95 per pound) that we found top quality and delicious, especially the coffee cream and the chocolate dipped fudge. The shop is known for delighting patrons with almost-lost traditional confections like scotch kisses as well as new traditions like black forest truffles and cranberry clusters.

Theresa, whose love for chocolate might have something to do with growing up in the Nichols family, makes the chocolates in the couple’s Essex home and packages them in a workspace adjacent to the shop. The workspace is also where she holds birthday parties and candy-making classes for children and adults.

In addition to Theresa’s confections, the shop features Lake Champlain bars in a variety of cocoa percentages and a line of letterpressed, hand-made cards. Both Whitmans are looking forward to their first holiday season in the new space, and we are looking forward to returning to support this talented entrepreneurial couple.

Goodies
46 Maple St, Danvers
(978) 762-4663
www.goodies-icecream.com

The Cocoa Belt
58 Maple St, Danvers
(978) 774-4332
www.thecocoabelt.com

Hot and Crunchy at Danvers’ Sawasdee

Award-winning Thai food for lunch? Conveniently located in downtown Danvers? What’s not to like? Indeed, we found everything to our liking on our visit to Sawasdee, which recently won Northshore Magazine’s vote for best Thai food.

The interior is airy and comfortable, with brick walls and wood floors, funky light fixtures, and more tiny bamboo plants than we’ve ever seen in one place. A cozy bar occupies one corner, and the restaurant serves beer and wine.

The menu is just as well thought out, with a huge selection of appetizers, the option to create your own stir fry or curry (choice of meat and sauce/veggies), and plenty of lunch specials. We especially like the option to change the white rice in the specials for brown rice ($.75), sticky rice ($1), or rice noodles ($1).

We started with a DIY appetizer special call fun fun lettuce wraps: large leaves that hold a chicken mixture and crispy bean thread noodles, all dipped in a sweet chili sauce ($5). Fun, crunchy, and delicious.

Then we moved onto pad thai ($6.75), panang curry with beef ($7.75), and pla rad pik (crispy fish, $7.75). The pad thai noodles and large shrimp were succulent, and the sauce was a tad sweeter than we’re used to—absolutely addictive. The panang had just the right combination of coconut and curry, although the beef was a bit chewy.

The fish was quite fiery and had a terrific light breading. It’s available as a whole fish for dinner, and we recommend it for those who complain that Thai restaurants turn down the heat too much for Americans. The vegetables on both the fish and the curry dishes were crisp/tender, just the way we like them.

Done right, there’s nothing like Thai food to satisfy those cravings for comforting carbs, salty sauces, and heat—and Sawasdee definitely does it right.

Sawasdee Danvers
49A Maple St, Danvers
(978) 744-8424
www.sawasdeedanvers.com

Nine Elm Makes Danvers a Dining Destination

The dining scene in Danvers Square has seen quite a revitalization over the past year, and the leader of the pack is Nine Elm American Bistro, which has garnered a loyal following since Matt and Jean Sanidas opened the doors last September.

We decided to see what all the buzz was about and headed there for dinner recently. The cozy dining room was inviting, with warm lighting, wooden tables, chalkboard specials, and the smell of garlic wafting from the kitchen. An adorable bar lines one wall, though only beer and wine are served. (Danvers only accommodates nine full liquor licenses, so new restaurants are often granted a partial one.)

Our server was friendly, attentive, and quite happy to let us linger over the menu. After ordering a bottle of wine, we settled on the Prince Edward Island mussels, sautéed with parsley, lemon, garlic, and white wine ($8) and the summer vegetable tart baked with goat cheese and ricotta ($8) to start.

The tart was unexpected; instead of the sautéed veggies we imagined, it was a pastry shell with a cheesy, almost quiche-like filling. While tasty, it lacked a certain oomph. The mussels, however, were a memorable standout— lush and delicious. The shellfish was fresh and the jus perfect; it deserved to have every drop sopped up with the wonderful grilled bread that accompanied the dish.

For entrees, we chose the pan seared sea scallops with spinach-basil risotto and sweet corn butter sauce ($24) and grilled filet mignon with yukon gold mashed potatoes, blue cheese butter, and a red wine reduction ($26).

Once again, the seafood was fresh and cooked perfectly. The scallops were expertly seared, and the risotto had a wonderful light pesto flavor that tasted of summer. The steak was marvelous with a slightly smoky grilled exterior and melt-in-your mouth interior. Matt Sanidas’ secret to making red wine reduction is mystery, but with a taste like that, I bet the recipe is kept under lock and key.

We didn’t really need dessert, but we were having such a lovely leisurely meal that we decided to prolong it by ordering the flourless chocolate torte with vanilla bean ice cream ($6) The torte was rich and dense and quite good, though we regretted not ordering the profiteroles when we saw a delectable trio of them served to an adjacent table. Oh well, next time.

And where Nine Elm is concerned, there definitely will be a next time. Some may find the idea of an upscale bistro in Danvers Square a bit surprising, but with meals like these, it’s certainly worth investigating.

Nine Elm American Bistro
9 Elm Street, Danvers
(978) 774-9436
9elm.com

First Look: Sweet Heart Bake Shop in Danvers

Right off the bat, we need to say we’re very picky when it comes to baked goods. After all, if you’re going to consume the umpteen calories in a cake slice or pastry, it should be fantastically delicious, rather than just sweet and “pretty good.”

We sampled several treats from the new Sweet Heart Bake Shop in Danvers Square yesterday, and although some were quite good, others did not meet our (admittedly) high standards.

Sweet Heart is a tiny space offering everything from egg sandwiches and fruit cups in the morning to subs, sicilian pizza squares, and quiche for lunch and dinner. Breakfast pastries include muffins, coffee cake, and mini breads (banana, pumpkin, zucchini). We sampled a poppyseed muffin with lemon glaze ($1.50) with a dense crumb that was good but not great.

In addition to cheesecake, carrot cake, and bundt cake, the shop offers cookies, cupcakes, and biscotti. We sampled the lemon square, brownie ($1.25), whoopie pie ($1), and a mini éclair ($2.25). The lemon square was terrific—just enough sweet to balance the tart, and great texture to the crust and filling. The brownie, topped with chocolate chips, was very good. It was large and fudgy without being overly dense.

We were less impressed by the whoopie pie (the cake was crumbly and the filling was bland) and the éclair (flavorless filling and underbaked shell).

If you’re in Danvers Square and looking for breakfast or lunch, Sweet Heart is worth stopping by to check out. Owners Jeremy and Joan Smith obviously care about providing their customers with fresh, quality food. The shop is still quite new, and as Joan (the baker) gets her feet under her, SweetHeart may become more of a destination than a drop-in.

Sweet Heart Bake Shop
2 High St, Danvers
(978) 774-7467