The Chocolate Sanctuary

Hi. My name is Carrie and I'm a chocoholic.

Really. Seriously. A bad one. I'm not real big on sweets. I can easily pass up pie or cake or ice cream or doughnuts or a number of other sugary treats. But put a good-quality chocolate bar in front of me or a truffle or a chocolate dipped strawberry and all bets are off. I cave.

So, when I heard about the Chocolate Sanctuary a while back, I knew it was a place I would have to visit. It's been on my foodie bucket list for quite some time...but Gurnee is a bit of a hike from my home in the far south suburbs and although I don't mind traveling a bit for a good meal, I just hadn't been able to squeeze in time to go. However, when my friend, Tanya, invited me to meet her there for lunch, I jumped at the opportunity. She lives in Gurnee and repeated all the good things I've been hearing about the place.

Let me tell you about Tanya. I knew of her online before I knew her in person from following her on Instagram. And when I met her in person I instantly fell in love with her. She has the bubbliest personality and is so down to earth. She also grew up in Germany - and being married to a second-generation German, there's a lot for us to chat about. And one other thing that I have to mention after getting together for lunch - she is a great hugger. Don't you love people like that? It's not a half-hearted reach around and tap you on the back kinda thing, it's a squeeze you tight and make-you-feel-special kind of hug. How could you not love someone like that? We were introduced in real life when we both became WGN Radio Brand Ambassadors last year and we have had some fun times at WGN events since then. Being a WGN Radio Ambassador was a blast and I'm so grateful it brought us together. Anyway, on to the food.

Our visit coincided with Lake County Restaurant Week and we selected from their restaurant week lunch specials for just $15. There were some great options.

First came the bread - some lovely, soft warm rolls both regular and their special chocolate ones (that also happen to have chocolate chips baked in). To go with it: chocolate butter. Yes, chocolate butter. It might sound odd at first, but it's amazing. The chocolate flavor is so subtle, but it's fantastic. It's like starting with dessert - and I can totally get on board with that.


So along with the restaurant week lunch, I got iced tea, which they sweetened up with a pump of raspberry syrup. Tanya went with something a little stronger, which I would have loved if I didn't have to go to another event immediately after.

So, the lunch had three courses and there were savory options that had a little infusion or hint of chocolate in them. I started with the Nice Sweet N Neat salad with rocket lettuce, mixed greens, strawberries and cocoa nibs with vanilla vinaigrette. Loved the light dressing and I love a little crunch in my salad. My crunch usually comes from pecans or croutons and I never would have thought of chocolate bits, but it works - and well.

I paired the salad with a 1/2 sandwich - the turkey, mozzarella and cocoa-candied bacon on house-made flatbread with cocoa-cranberry dipping sauce. I picked that one because, well, bacon obviously. :) The dipping sauce was so good. Again, the chocolate flavor was subtle and not overpowering and I could think of tons of other things to dip in that sauce. 

Tanya started with Lollipop Chicken Wings ~ another thing I'd been eyeing on the menu. It was topped in 10-year tawny port and cocoa-infused bbq sauce with blue cheese dressing. I'm normally not a chicken wing gal (or ribs for that matter), basically because I don't want to have to work that hard for my meat. But in the past year I have tried some killer sauces that have made me reconsider my stance and I'm ordering wings and drums more and more. 

I was so glad she was on board with sharing because I really waned to try those wings. The sauce on these blew me away. I really wish I could have brought a bottle home. I'd put it on everything like that little old lady in the Frank's Hot Sauce commercials.

Tanya's Entree was AMAZING. She got the Chicken Mole Oaxacan style - pan roasted chicken, tortillas, sesame seeds, Spanish rice and chocolate mole served with white chocolate salsa verde. I'd attended an event a few years ago sponsored by a chocolate company where chocolate was infused into many dishes and one had a mole sauce. We're going back like 5 or 6 years and I still remembered how good that mole sauce was, so I was excited to this their version. I was wowed and again, thanks to Tanya for passing on a couple bites for me to try.

Of course, for those who want a straight-on full chocolate experience without any subtleties, there much to indulge in. Look at this tempting case of freshly-made chocolate truffles. Their work station is located next to this case where you can watch them work behind glass in making these beauties.



We were seriously stuffed before we got to dessert. We each ordered the "Bite of Heaven" to go. A mini slice was one of the dessert options for restaurant week. It's a chocolate cake with Madagascar chocolate ganache, house-made whipped cream and chocolate shavings. When arrived home with it later that night my kids snatched it and I just got one small bite, but yeah, it was pretty delicious. 

Now rest assured we didn't actually leave without eating dessert. Tanya introduced me to the pastry chef, Hailey, who chatted a little about her recent trip to Ecuador and meeting with cocoa producers there and how she planned to incorporate that experience into some upcoming tastings and events. She told us that we HAD to have their molten lava cake. And who were we to argue? So after she twisted our arm, we split one and it was pure chocolate heaven. I recommend ending any visit to The Chocolate Sanctuary with this.

When Gurnee is mentioned most people instantly think of Six Flags Great America. And this place is literally in the shadow of the amusement park. When I parked my car I was looking straight ahead at a roller coaster. So, if your plans this summer include a visit to Great America, plan to work in a visit to The Chocolate Sanctuary into your trip. Whether you're a hard-core chocoholic like me or not, there's something for everyone.

***Our meal was provided for the purpose of a review. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.