Last night, fennel and I hit Upstairs on the Square for their Valrhona Hot Chocolate, billed thusly by the Boston Globe: "It's made with fluffy housemade marshmallows and sweet vanilla Chantilly cream on top." It was also listed as $8 per, so we had high hopes.

The excellent company notwithstanding, the entire Upstairs on the Square experience was a big disappointment. fennel ordered the HC with dinner, while I decided I'd like to have mine as dessert, so I ordered a Violette Royale -- a sparkling wine mixed drink, which might be my favorite category of mixed drink these days, but the violet liqueur had a bit of a chemical aftertaste that really detracted from the pleasure of the drink. The bread was a great, chewy texture that I loved, and the herby oil dip was great, but that's as good as it got. We ordered two appetizers to share, both of which we pretty bland and uninteresting!

But you're waiting for the hot chocolate review. It was similarly disappointing. In fact, after one sip of fennel's, I decided I didn't need to order one of my own. It was thin, not particularly chocolatey, with an unsatisfying mouthfeel and no real sense of decadence. I make an unusually good hot chocolate, so I feel it's an unfair comparison to say I could do better at home, but I could do better at home. I could even do better at home with Hershey's cocoa powder, sugar, and milk, though, so that's a more substantial statement. The one pleasant surprise: the price was merely (*cough*) $4 rather than $8. And there were no marshmallows! Perhaps one has to go in the afternoon for the really good stuff? Unfortunately, I won't be going back to find out. C-/D+