Chocolate + Cashmere Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but chocolate and cashmere are pretty chummy with the ladies, too! At Chocolate + Cashmere, a newish shop on Palace Avenue, both luxuries are stylishly celebrated, making it worth a visit anytime you want to spoil someone special (or yourself). This is the second location for a concept that originated in Taos in 2012; when owner Haleigh Palmer wanted to expand into the Santa Fe market, she found a location just steps from the Plaza. Part confectionery shop, part clothing store, with interiors by local artist Kristin Bortles, C+C offers candies from local chocolatiers—Taos’s Linda Durante and Albuquerque’s La Joliesse—and cashmere garments from New Mexico and elsewhere. The edibles change seasonally and are “da bomb” (after all, the historic building once housed Oppenheimer’s office). Don’t miss the raspberry-ancho chile goat cheese or lemon crème truffles, or the duck fat caramels; and nothing beats the cold like a softly fuzzy hat, scarf, gloves, or leg warmers. Men’s sweaters join the mix this winter, so pad your Valentine’s tummy and swaddle them in cashmere to show the love.—John Vollertsen Chocolate + Cashmere, 109 E Palace, golightlycashmere.com 56
santafean.com
february/march 2016
DOUGLAS MERRIAM
spoiler alert