Oh, the sweet chocolate coated bliss of Valentine’s day! It’s nearly upon us! While I’ve never been a big fan of commercial holidays, Valentine’s day included, I do fully support any holiday that shines the spotlight on chocolate! What self-respecting chocolate lover would turn her back on this prized day? (actually, any day which includes chocolate is prized if you ask me!)

Last year when I posted about Valentines day, I brought up the topic of Fair Trade. It’s still important, and it’s still an issue, so this year, while I’m not going to write at length about how wonderful Fair Trade products are, I am going to tell you about some fantastic locally made AND Fair Trade chocolates that you can easily scoop up in time for Sunday. Due in part to a growing unrest with industrial food, and mass production, there are a lot of really small, artisanal food makers popping up all over the place. Harking back to an earlier time when foods were made in small batches with care, love, and attention to detail, these new artisanal cooks, bakers, and of course chocolatiers are finding themselves with a rapt audience. People have grown tired of the total anonymity of their food, and are increasingly interested in knowing exactly what goes into their food, and who made it.

The great thing about NY and it’s thriving foodie scene, is that there are a lot of people committed to making these amazing artisanal foods. Supporting small, local food makers is the best way to push forward a movement of sustainable, organic, and thoughtfully produced food – something we need a lot more of. And what better way to show your love for someone on Valentines Day (or any other day really), than to present them with food made thoughtfully, with love, and with attention to details that matter – like whether slave labor was used to make it! With this in mind, I’ve put together a small list of LOCAL and FAIR TRADE companies that make all kinds of AMAZING chocolates (not all of which I’ve had the pleasure of trying yet!). Buy one, buy a box, or buy one of each! Take a chocolate tour of NYC and see how many locally made, organic, fair trade chocolates you can find! Most of these companies make 100% dairy free – vegan chocolates.

* MAST BROTHERS CHOCOLATE

* FINE & RAW

* COCOA-V

* SWEET RIOT

* VERE CHOCOLATE

* LIFE BY CHOCOLATE

*  OLIVER KITA

*  LAGUSTA’S LUCIOUS ARTISNAL CHOCOLATE

And while chocolate is amazing, it’s certainly not going to fill your tummy (not without a tummy-ache!), so you might want to have dinner first! While lots of restaurants feature special Valentines Day menu’s, take your special someone to a special place. For stunningly upscale and outrageously tasty dinner, try Candle 79, which, in my opinion, is the best vegan restaurant in New York City, hands down. Or try Blossom, a teeny tiny notch down in elegance from Candle 79, and an even teenier notch down in awesomeness of food (but still, this place earns like 10 gold stars!).  Blossom has three locations, up from one just a few years ago – two on the west side, and one uptown east. There are dozens of wonderful veggie restaurants, but those two are my top picks for sure… take your special someone, or if you don’t have one, a group of friends on a night out that starts with a chocolate shopping spree, and ends with a delicious, vegan, crafted with love, dinner!