What does "Bouchon" mean?

Well, I suppose it depends on how you want to look at it. For instance, if you're a fan of fancy Ho-Hos, you might instantly think of the bakery adjoining the restaurant entitled Bouchon.

If you're still up to date with your high school French, you might say it means "a cork or stopper" as in, "Où est le bouchon pour cette carafe?"

If you like to eat French pastries, you'll know it as a bite-sized, generally quite rich, little mouthful of a treat.

And if you've ever been to Garces Trading Company in Philadelphia, you know that even further, the literal translation is "a small bite of something chocolate that I wish I could eat my weight in".

Garce's Trading Company is a restaurant, it's true, but they have a highly respectable pastry case. Here's a peek.

But the first item tried by the Spy was the Bouchon. It was chocolatey. It was gooey in the middle. It was dark and sweet and the type of sweet that sticks to the roof of your mouth and teeth. Chocolate, yes!

It is worth seeking out. If you are in Philadelphia, go to Garces Trading Company, and proceed to the pastry counter. You won't regret it.

Garces Trading Company, 1111 Locust Street, Philadelphia; online here.