AMERICA’S BEST : Chocolate Dreams

No one leaves Chicago’s Le Francais without sampling the silky chocolate sorbet, the rich chocolate creme brulee , the souffle that erupts molten chocolate or some other intense chocolate creation. Mary Beth Liccioni’s desserts are so popular at the reknowned French restaurant that four years ago she and her husband, Roland, created Chocolats Le Francais, a retail and mail order business for the chocolates.

They turned the restaurant’s liquor storeroom into a chocolate lab and imported a special machine from Germany to enrobe the confections with Valrhona, the superb dark chocolate from France. Then they hired Jim Graham (formerly of Maison du Chocolat in France) to create chocolates with exotic flavorings that include Earl Grey tea, lemongrass and fresh mint leaf (11-piece box, $9.50), as well as rich toffee (11-ounce box, $18), velvety chocolate bars (5-ounce bar, $5.50) and chocolate chunk cookie dough (32-ounce carton, $10.25).

But Graham’s very best creation is a hot chocolate creme , made from whole couverture chocolate. If you are used to drinking Swiss Miss or some other powdered mix, you’re in for a new experience. “People are starting to discover what hot chocolate is about,” says Graham, “and it has nothing to do with cocoa powder.”

A 20-ounce jar, enough for about 10 mugs, costs $10.50 plus shipping and handling.

Chocolats Le Francais, 269 S. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, Ill. 60090-5097. (800) 452-4221. MasterCard, Visa