I stood in front of the thick glass entrance guarding what seemed to be nothing more than a standard high-end restaurant, one of many located on the bustling streets of downtown D.C. As I gripped the bronze handle of the restaurant’s glass parapet, entering the dimly lit room. dim. light stand, my mind couldn’t prepare me for the wealth of astonishment and awe that I was about to experience. With two feet firmly planted in the walls of the restaurant, I drifted into the sweet and savory chocolate heaven: Co Co. Sala.
Working as the humble and meek Charlie Bucket, I entered the sugar-coated, sweet world imagined by today’s Willy Wonkas. From its ceiling that mimics waves of decadent and alluring chocolate icing to its tiled floor mimicking the squares of solid chocolate bars I ate as a child, the architectural design of this restaurant simply makes every customer’s stomach vibrate with endless hunger for the sweet treat to come. .
As soon as I took my seat, a seemingly endless array of vividly flavorful dishes caught my full attention. I was served a wide range of dishes each having a distinct and unique taste, with each new dish bringing an explosion of flavors in my mouth. From blue cheese beef sliders to steak and egg flatbread, every plate brings its own uniqueness and quality, whether it is sensual, mysterious, or funny. Yet, despite the different differences of the dishes, each has an unconventional, but cohesive element to it: chocolate.
Whether it is brunch, dinner or dessert, every plate contains this sweet and adaptable ingredient that characterizes Co Co food. Sala as food is very unorthodox.
Every dish that moves from Co Co’s busy kitchen. Sala to my dark rectangular table works as a subversive against established traditional cooking methods throughout the modern world. The plate itself looks as if it was designed by Wassily Kandinsky, having shapes and patterns that mimic the style of abstract art. However, food design is not only influenced by the avant-garde thinking of Santosh Tiptur, executive chef and pastry chef of Co Co. Sala, but also how it works.
As my fork sinks into each new food item, like Co Co’s cinnamon brioche. Sala’s french toast s’mores, I experienced a whirlwind of flavors unlike anything I’ve ever had before. Tiptur takes the traditional ideas of sweet, salty, spicy and bitter, and creates types that fall into those concrete categories, overwhelming the customer with disoriented enjoyment. Tiptur works as an artist, with whimsical square plates as his canvas and much of fresh and exotic materials as his paints.
Launched in May 2008, Co Co. Sala is a dream come true for dedicated cocoa connoisseurs. Its founders, Nisha Sidhu and Bharat Moltra initially planned for Co Co. Sala is little more than a dessert restaurant and chocolate boutique alone, open late afternoon and closed late afternoon modestly.
However, as the influx of consumers grew denser, Sidhu and Moltra realized that Co Co. Sala has not developed optimally. With the help of chef Tiptur, the restaurant expanded its menu to include the average meal of the day, with every breakfast, lunch and dinner influenced by the sweet tooth of the Co Co staff. Sala.
While the food itself is really excellent, I recognize the amount of painstaking perfectionism it takes to make a restaurant like Co Co. Sala. From the dark brown marble imported from Italy to the glass-encased sugar sculptures made by Sidhu himself, Co Co. Sala is a labor of affection for each staff member. Their tireless dedication is really astonishing as everybody working in the restaurant exhibits an unwavering enthusiasm for the greatness that lies within the brown walls of the building.
Whether you are a traveling-the-world diner to a little tourist from the west coast, Co Co’s astonishing dishes. Sala is for each and each chocolate lover. It is here at Co Co. A sala where all chocoholics can gather and feast on a wide range of self-indulgent, fat-inducing treats.
