Let me count the ways this chocolatier (conveniently located just a few blocks from the V+P office) amazes, amuses, and inspires.

1.Couture chocolate creations make for the best gifts ever. Exotic truffles, caramel marshmallows and bacon chocolate chip pancake mix will send corporate clients, puppy sitters, family-members-who-have-everything and adventurous valentines into paroxysms of pleasure.

Chocolate and Bacon: A match made in hog heaven.

Thoughtful, luxurious packaging makes even the smallest nibble impressive.

Even the gift boxes are delicious.

2. Though its e-commerce site is extensive, a visit to the tiny, tucked-away boutique is the ultimate pick-me-up. Forget martinis: my incognito friend and I recently capped off a crazy week with an ancho-and-chipotle-chili, cinnamon-and-vanilla-bean drinking chocolate made behind the SoHo store’s impressively stocked truffle bar.

A pretty purple Vosges shopping bag made my friend's bad hair day much more manageable.

Coffee drinks and insane ice creams do the trick, too.

Belly up to the bar for chocolatey bliss.

3. Design is clearly top-of-mind. We can’t get enough of the royal purple decor, gift boxes and silky double-faced satin ribbons. For the paint obsessed, Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Violet matches beautifully. I can just imagine it in a powder room…

To bring the boutique's look home, try Gentle Violet #2071-20.

4. Not everything’s purple either. Click here for more information on the company’s green efforts.

Our local Vosges Haut Chocolate is located at 132 Spring Street (between Greene & Wooster). Check out http://www.vosgeschocolate.com for other locations and e-commerce.