for the plot and the music

for all of your chocolate fixes. If you can get to a store, I totally recommend the beverages.

WHAT’S NEW

Julia Bainbridge, Karen Bianchini, Kate Washington, Olivia Wu

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

WARMING TREND: Chic, palate-pleasing hot cocoa options are steaming up the Bay Area.

Cocoa Bella, the Union Street chocolateria that now has a small store in the Westfield Shopping Centre, offers peanut butter, raspberry and mint takes on the drink (all $5), in addition to classic dark hot chocolate ($4). Sales associate and CCA-certified pastry chef Shurry Rollo developed the creative confections after a three-week kitchen lab retreat.

Bittersweet, with its comfortable, quirky mismatched seating, serves a classic, rich hot chocolate ($3.95), and offers a hot and spicy version with a kick of pepper and hint of rose ($3.25), Venezuelan white chocolate infused with cardamom ($3.25), and chocolate chai ($3.95).

Hot chocolate continues to be a popular dessert option at restaurants. Town Hall blends Scharffen Berger with other chocolate, and serves it with biscotti and Chantilly cream. It’s the top-selling dessert at Andalu, the Mission tapas restaurant, which serves the drink Castilian-style, with Valrhona chocolate and doughnut holes for dunking. For an organic option, try Olema Inn.

If you want to enjoy your cup of chocolate at home, Recchiuti Confections in the Ferry Building has a take-home version. To prepare, simply pour hot water over the dark chocolate pistoles and whisk until they come together ($16 for 12 ounces). Beware, though: The Chronicle’s tasters found the flavor and texture a little thin. Back to Basics’ Cocoa-Latte Hot Drink Maker fixed that problem, creating smooth, frothy hot chocolate from a cocoa powder and milk mix (see Page F4 for more information).

Cocoa Bella, 2102 Union St., (415) 931-6213; and 845 Market, Westfield Shopping Centre, (415) 896-5222; both San Francisco.

Bittersweet Cafe, 5427 College Ave., Oakland, (510) 654-7159; and 2123 Fillmore St., (415) 346-8715; S.F.

Recchiuti Confections, 1 Ferry Building No. 30, (415) 834-9494; S.F.

Town Hall, 342 Howard St., (415) 908-3900; S.F.

Andalu, 3198 16th St., (415) 621-2211; S.F.

Olema Inn & Restaurant, 10,000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., (415) 663-9559; Olema.

I’m now approximately twice the age I was when I began clubbing and feeling due for a revival (more of the music than the behavior). I’d almost forgotten about Vicious Pink - not hard, since they only had one album and two, maybe three songs that anyone ever heard - but I found them on a mix CD that a friend had made for me FOREVER ago. Good memories, good fun.

I bought a pair of platform boots on impulse at a thrift store about four years ago, mostly because they were tall and not leather and I thought that they’d be good for splashing about in puddles. They were good for puddles, and also, as it turned out, for walking and for pants that were a little long and for a half-hundred other things. I’ve replaced the heels twice and then when I went to pull them out the other day, I noticed that the not-leather had a small snag, the toes were getting worn and generally, my boots were tired. It’s time for an update.

I think that these will do nicely.

There’s no neighborhood in this food-crazed city that has a tastier diversity of restaurants than the Mission District. Better yet, there’s a miraculous shortage of tourists milling about. Here is a sampling of some of the Mission’s critically acclaimed restaurants.

Delfina, 3621 18th St. More than a few critics have labeled Delfina one of the best Northern Italian restaurants in San Francisco. Housed in a chic, cramped industrial space with back patio; the Niman Ranch flatiron steak with fries is a winner. Can’t get into Delfina? Try the casual Pizzeria Delfina next door, and dine out on the bustling sidewalk. Open daily. (415) 552-4055, www.delfinasf.com.

It seems fitting that the last thing that I will ever buy at Tower is the complete collection of my favorite now-cancelled series