where can i find the best hot fudge sundae in the bay area?

Question

I wish we had a best of board, a la the New York board!  I'm looking for the very best hot fudge sundae, anywhere in the bay.  The requirements are really good ice cream, fantastic fudge with high quality chocolate or just a really special taste and, ideally, freshly whipped cream.  My experience so far has been places with good ice cream don't have amazing hot fudge.  Also, this should be somewhere where a person can go in and order a hot fudge sundae only; so while it can be a sit-down restaurant, it should be approachable enough to be able to sit at the bar and have dessert only.

Answer

Maybe at Rivoli, in Berkeley?

Answer

My favorite fudge sauce is sold in white tubs in the freezer section at Whole Foods and Berkeley Bowl. I don't have one at the moment and can't remember the name, but it comes in bittersweet (recommended--Denali fudge?) and milk chocolate. It has the texture of ganache. They're from Oregon, and the cost is $5.99. You microwave it for 15 seconds, and it liquifies and turns into the best fudge sauce I've ever tasted.

Answer

The St. Francis Creamery in the Mission used to have what I think of as "real" hot fudge, the kind that gets taffy-chewy when it hits the cold ice cream. (Note to Melanie and Ruth: corn syrup is one of the necessary ingredients to make this kind of hot fudge, which dates back to the days before corn syrup was added to absolutely everything. Check your "Joy of Cooking" or Maida Heatter.) They've had many ownership changes over the past few years--has anybody had recent experience there? I myself have been lamenting the loss of classic hot fudge. The best in SF hands down used to be at the Daily Scoop on Potrero Hill, which has been gone for a couple of years. C.C. Brown's on Hollywood Boulevard, the site of hot fudge's birth, is gone too. As is Schrafft's and Jahn's in New York. Double Rainbow never had it. Forget Ben and Jerry's, and Mitchell's. In the city, I'd try Swensen's and Mel's Diner. In the east bay, the Montclair Malt Shop looks like a possibility. I live in Berkeley; do you want to make a research visit there together? E-mail me.

Answer

thanks for all of the suggestions! i've tried two things so far: rivoli, and the denali dark/bitersweet sauce from the freezer of whole foods. first, windy's right, the denali chocolate is superb. i made sundaes at home with strauss vanilla (i know not everyone likes their ice cream!), the denali sauce heated up in a saucepot, store-bought whipped cream and roasted virginia peanuts, chopped-up. sadly, i don't have an electric mixer and so didn't mix my own cream, which would have made it much, much better. as it was, it was pretty delicious, albeit not cheap (about $12 for three sundaes with everything but ice cream left over). the two people i fed them to said it was the best sundae they've ever had, but then i don't think they've really looked. the sundae at rivoli was not nearly as good as the one i assembled at home -- neither the ice cream nor the sauce were truly exceptional, but the toasted, salted walnuts on top were lovely. it's not an amazing sundae, but i have to admit that, as of yet, i haven't had a better one out in the bay area.

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where can i find the best hot fudge sundae in the bay area?

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