Smokin' Sips

In yesterday's edition of Got Plans?, a reader wrote in seeking a smoking hot beverage:
Dear Gurus, I've been craving some seriously spicy hot chocolate in this fair city of ours. Do you know where I can satisfy my chocolately desire? I'm not talking about regular hot chocolate for the frigid temperatures...I'm talking about the kind where they add a kick of pepper. Thanks for helping me out!

ACKC specializes in cocoa. That's hot.(Marvin Joseph)

I wrote about hot chocolate just last month, but it and spice are two of my regular cravings, so I'm happy to revisit the topic. Plus, the weather when I first posted was about 40 degrees warmer, so talk of warming beverages is perfectly acceptable. The Mexican hot chocolate at Taqueria Nacionale is a rave-worthy cinnamon concoction that's guaranteed to warm anybody running around the Hill. Recently, I have become a huge fan of the Lucy at ACKC Cocoa Gallery on 14th Street. All of the store's signature hot chocolates are named after divas, but the Lucy is the fiery redhead of the bunch with chipotle and cinnamon.

When those cravings kick in at odd hours, you're best stocking some hot chocolate mix at home. At Biagio Fine Chocolate, Marie Belle's Aztec hot cocoa is delicious with a peppery kick at the end. Vosges also makes a spicy Aztec Elixir cocoa that is worth a try. I love the Red Fire bar from the same line of spicy chocolate. The Curious Grape in Shirlington stocks Chuao chocolate's Spicy Maya drinking chocolate, which is deliciously rich and well-spiced. The store also carries Marie Belle.

--Erin