Cocoa Belle Review

We headed to the River Market for lunch on Saturday and stumbled across Cocoa Belle, the new confectioner in Ottenheimer Hall. The metropolitan stand, which features artisan truffles, held its grand opening on Saturday. We had to wade through a crowd of women lusting over the chocolates to place an order at the counter.

When we made it there, we ordered nine truffles so we could sample several selections and the cash register rang up at a steep $19.50 with tax. I think that level of pricing is going to be hard to sustain for this little shop once its newness and novelty wears off. But who knows. Tourists in Little Rock definitely spend more money on less worthy treats.



Now on to the chocolates themselves. We definitely don't have anyone in Little Rock who is making creations like these. We've long wished for a full-fledged Godiva store here, especially since the chocolatier at River City Coffee and Tea moved on. Cocoa Belle fills a void in Little Rock.

The confections are purely scrumptious. We have four left in our little box and are continuing to savor them. Cocoa Belle's truffles are inventive. We've so far tried a raspberry truffle that had real berries (including a couple of seeds) in them -- it was a lovely marriage of tart and sweet, but didn't leave us feeling overwhelmed.



The milky truffle is a classic -- plain jane but yummy. My favorite is the Key Lime truffle -- white chocolate, graham cracker crust, cream and a little lime zest. I ordered three of these and am saving the remaining two for an after-work indulgence this week. My husband gives his endorsement to the Grand Mariner-stuffed truffle. Why? "I don't know," he said. "It just tasted really good."

Cocoa Belle's owner, Carmen Portillo, told me that this week she'll begin stocking homemade pralines, which include hazelnuts and almonds. I prefer pralines to truffles, so I'll definitely be stopping back by, though Cocoa Belle will have to be a rare treat in our household. Our palates loved these confections, but at $2 a pop, our wallets can't support the craving.