Just try and find a cooler (i.e. hip, groovy, neat-o) chocolate shop, we dare you. bon bon in Andersonville provides high-quality, handmade chocolates exquisitely crafted with an Egyptian theme, among others. Chocolates shaped (and relentlessly detailed) like pyramids, scarabs and the queen bee herself, Cleopatra, line the display cases, and while flavor mixtures seem strange at first—for example, white chocolate infused with lavender and honey or milk chocolate solid with ancho chili clove and cinnamon—all doubts are washed away immediately upon eating. In addition to single chocolate purchases, which range from $1.20-$2.40 each and cost $60 per pound, you can also buy the goods in sets (12, 20 or 35 pieces), or there are always the peanut butter grahams ($3), the twist pretzels ($6) and the cocoa-powdered almonds ($7); and that's just to start.

The mother/daughter run chocolate shop, which opened its doors to great success in early 2002, is brightly lit, brightly colored and cleverly designed. Though it's not the biggest chocolate store in the world (or Chicago for that matter), it uses its small space exceptionally well, and the service is incredibly friendly and helpful to newcomers who don't quite know what they want—yet. bon bon has even been featured in Playboy Magazine (April 2005) for its Kama Sutra chocolate set depicting several, shall we say, "stimulating" sexual acts ($24). Want to spice up your food life and your sex life, all in one bite? Then look no further.

Centerstage Reviewer: Benjamin Andrew Moore