Beta5
GO HERE: for a wild and whimsical experience in all things chocolate, sugar, flour, and cream. Named for “the most stable form of cocoa-butter crystallization,” Beta5 began by producing chocolate bars and confections, but its creations have expanded to include a line of ethereal cream puffs and weekend experiments in pastry and ice cream.
ORDER THE: noodle bar (actually a chocolate bar) with togarashi-spiced peanuts and ramen noodles; mango-passion fruit caramels; Vietnamese coffee cream puff; and whatever special weekend creation they’re featuring, like raspberry-orange brioche ice cream sandwiches and sundaes simply titled Disco.
THE VIBE IS: clinical-like but in a good way. It is a fine curated chocolate lab with an all-white sparkling-clean space and a product lineup that changes often. Peek through the windows in the back of Beta5 to watch the team of pastry wizards at work.
PRACTICAL STUFF: Open Tuesday to Friday, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Monday.
—Lindsay Anderson
