The Chocolate Bar, a two-level restaurant with large windows along West Chippewa Street in downtown Buffalo, seems to be an extremely popular dining option, judging by the steady stream of patrons continually flowing by me as I perused a menu of more than 50 varieties of martinis, ranging from a traditional Cosmo to the almost-too-sweet-sounding peanut butter cup or Swedish fish martini. It was nearly impossible to keep my eyes off the tantalizing glass showcases crammed with decadent creations that tempted me to skip dinner and head straight for dessert, but somehow I managed to resist—at least temporarily. On your way out, if you’re completely besotted with your very fine chocolate-themed meal, take home a memory with one of the T-shirts for sale behind the counter with such messages as “Chocolate…cheaper than therapy” and “Nobody knows the truffles I’ve seen.”

Try This: Start with a Chocolate Bar original, a toasted baguette stuffed with smooth dark chocolate and coarse sea salt, accompanied by olive oil and chocolate dipping sauce. Then warm up with a comforting turkey pot pie soup. For your entrée, choose another Chocolate Bar original: fresh pasta tossed with chicken, white chocolate cream, fresh basil, white pepper, and white wine, served along with a southwestern corn and pepper medley. For dessert, willingly obliterate your daily (or weekly) sugar intake with one of a dozen different types of hot chocolate and a Belgian chocolate mousse cake, or a Triple Chocolate Fusion: milk chocolate cheesecake atop bittersweet chocolate cheesecake atop a dark chocolate crust, drizzled with both dark and milk chocolate ganache.