XOX Truffles: French-Accented Chocolates in San Francisco

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Chocolate San Francisco

A couple bound by chocolate runs XOX Truffles in North Beach.

The XOX Truffles motto: “Created with a French attitude…handmade in the USA…taste out of this world.” Sounds about right.

Jean-Marc Gorce, formerly with Fringale, opened this truffle shop with his wife Casimira on October 11, 1998, around the corner from Washington Square. It’s a tiny shop, with one table inside, a counter, and a couple tables on the sidewalk. XOX Truffles are often mentioned among the best in the city, and the best in the country. They’ve been featured three times in the San Francisco Chronicle and twice in Food & Wine.

So far, Chef Gorce has concocted 27 flavors of truffles, both Liqueured, including Amaretto (Cocoa Powder-Dusted); Cognac (Cocoa Powder-Dusted); Creme de Framboise/Raspberry (Cocoa Powder-Dusted); Liqueur de Noisette (Hazelnut-Coated); and Rum Coco (Coconut-Coated)…

…and Non-Liqueured – Casimira’s Favourite (White Chocolate-Coated); Citron/Lemon (Cocoa Powder-Dusted); and French Roast (Coffee Crunch-Coated); a l’Orange (Cocoa Powder-Dusted). There are even Soy/Vegan versions of Dark Chocolate, a l’Orange and Noisette.

Every day, there are 20 varieties on offer, piled in bowls or laid on trays and protected by a glass display case. XOX Truffles also offers coffee drinks. Apparently a bitter espresso is the perfect contrast to the sweet truffles, though I was already seriously over-caffeinated.


Chocolate San Francisco

A quarter-pound variety ($8) featured one of each of the day’s 20 truffles cleverly packaged in a miniature Chinese takeout container.

Chocolate San Francisco

One free sample comes with each order. I chose Dark Chocolate dusted with cocoa powder. Sensational.

We sat at a sidewalk table and ate five more truffles. Since they were all jumbled together, we had fun tasting them and cross-checking our best guesses against the flavor list.

Does XOX Truffles have the best truffles in the country? I have no idea, but I’m sure they’re worth locating if you’re anywhere near San Francisco (or Oakland, home to XOX’s spinoff).

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

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