Try Downey's if You Have a Sweet Tooth in Orange County, CA

There's a new place for chocolate lover's in Orange County-Downey's in Laguna Niguel. Tucked away behind a Souplantation in a strip mall of little merit, Downey's is a delightful find.

All the chocolates are made with premium cocoa and are handmade. One of the neat things about Downey's-they have a viewing area to watch the labor intense, yet lovingly done artistry, being done. Most days there are over 30 varieties on display to enjoy.

A new venue, it is deftly run by a youthful group of people who are proud of the first place awards they have garnered for their raspberry symphony truffle and several other high places for several other tasty morsels. One came in third out of 900 entries at a recent chocolatier convention held in Las Vegas. I can attest to the more than deserved first place award for the raspberry symphony! It is one of their vegan pieces. It has dark chocolate on the outside and an almost liquid fresh raspberry filling on the inside. Best to pop the tidbit into your mouth all at once and savor the melding of the flavors.

I also tried the dark chocolate and marzipan truffle. Quite unlike others with the same filling-this marzipan was fresh, soft and melt in your mouth perfection. I would have loved to have tried many others-lavender vanilla, strawberry balsamic symphony, but alas they will await my next trip in!

My husband decided on trying some of Downey's imported hand made gelato. He was impressed to find that it came from a supplier in Las Vegas, who imported every single ingredient straight from Italy. The helpful staff told my husband he could taste as many of the varieties as he'd like. He tried 5 little spoons and then filled one of the take home insulated containers with 3 of his top choices. Hand packed!

And that isn't all Downey's has to offer. They serve gourmet crepes for breakfast-9 of the sweet variety, 3 of the savory. Gourmet coffees and teas are also freshly brewed and served. Hot chocolate and smoothies are also available.

Having preceded our visit with a surfing of their website, it mentioned they also served daily salad and sandwich specials. However, when we arrived the selections for the afternoon were already gone. So if you are planning a lunch-dessert outing, best to phone ahead to make sure of what is available.

Downey's has another thing going for it-sure to be a real hit! They host private birthday parties, bridal or baby showers, team fund-raisers and if you really want to learn more about chocolate making-sign up for their chocolatier classes.

They also do wedding and party favors-customizing the gifts to your special tastes.

The best part, besides the personalized service and quality of the chocolate, was the fact that even me with a dairy allergy had quite a few vegan choices to enjoy-which is a rare occurrence in most other places of the same kind. It was fun to watch the candy-makers do their stuff in front of us and enjoy the intimate atmosphere in this new shop.

Hopefully-Downey's is on the way up!