Hooker's Sweet Treats, San Francisco, CA

MOM:

Um, no, the irony is NOT lost on me that I’m looking for “treats” from a place called Hooker’s in  San Francisco’s “red light” Tenderloin district.  The reviews were so mouth watering and besides, I had my scrappy teen to protect me….when she’s not texting.  

In the middle of the Tenderloin!

We found the tiny, utterly charming Hooker’s Sweet Treats and I made a beeline for the little antique counter top display with a handful of chocolates and cookies innocently waiting.   As I carefully inspected the goods, a young, pony-tailed guy offered a smile and descriptions of the three offerings.

       1. Sea salted dark chocolate covered caramel 

       2. Cookie with the aforementioned baked IN!

       3. Peanut butter cookies.

He also made some noise about special coffee but I was still lingering on "cookie with the caramels baked in"…..my knees were buckling.   Taking a deep breath, I ordered two chocolates, one for me, and one for the bored teen next to me.   He put two pieces on the counter and suddenly, a manic impulse took over  me (or was it rational logic?) and I demanded a box of 10!    Yes, before I even picked up the gorgeous little square!  The teen looked startled, but was used to her mother’s manic behavior in the presence of chocolate, and immediately went back to her bored look.  The young man was also startled but quickly recovered.  For some unfathomable reason, he took back one of the chocolates on the counter and told us to share the one left while he prepared my box of 10!  Even more bizarre, I obeyed and bit half the chocolate before handing it over.  Sugar Nirvana.  Crisp salty, soft sweet gooey, rich deep chocolate.  Whoa…….I love Hooker.  

TEEN:
Hmm…ok, so, I was woken up at eight in the morning by the excitement of my mom wanting to find Hookers. Perhaps it was to show me what I look like when I don't dress appropriately? To scare me out of it? Nope. It’s a chocolate shop. So we drove/trekked somewhere in the middle of downtown San Francisco’s ghetto. It didn’t seem dangerous as people there were more interested in talking to themselves rather than us. Whatever, that’s beside the point. We soon noticed the little shop called Hooker's Sweet Treats. The interior was decorated to look very cute, which included a cute cashier. The glass enclosure contained the chocolates my mom had been so excited about. I mean really? They’re just chocolates. But they were delicious chocolates!! I hate how my mom is always right… 

A Box of Relationships!

After some thinking, these chocolates could easily relate to middle school relationships. I don’t know how these things come to mind, but maybe it will give teenagers a better visual. Going from the inside, out: The caramel is sweet and smooth, how relationship always start out, and fills up a majority of it. Then comes the dark, hard shell of chocolate. The first signs of the relationship going downhill toward a break-up. It’s the thinnest part. Lastly, it’s ended with the salty goodbyes, sprinkled on top. The caramel part is the best…both in the chocolate, and in the relationship. However, it takes the dark chocolate and sea salt to correctly compliment it. ;)