All Chocolate Kitchen serving up Sunday brunch

It's hard to walk by the All Chocolate Kitchen in Geneva without stopping in to check out the numerous chocolate treats that have made chef Alain Roby famous.

It's become even trickier on Sunday mornings, now that Roby and his wife, Esther, have added a new twist to their location on Third Street.

For the past month, the All Chocolate Kitchen has offered customers crepes and omelets from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays.

"Customers were saying they loved the crepes and bakery items, but they were asking if we could offer something with eggs," Roby said. "So it was something special for Sundays, and we are going to continue to do it."

With chef Andrew Zika performing his crepes and omelet magic right in the store's front window, the Sunday morning breakfast service certainly catches the eyes of passers-by.

"We plan to expand it at some point with more items, but right now we have various omelets and crepes," Roby said.

Flavor choices include mushroom, crab avocado, vegetable, salmon and turkey sausage crepes or omelets, among others.

"In the winter, it may be more seasonal, with apples and cranberries," Roby said.

Mostly, it gives the All Chocolate Kitchen a new sense - and smell.

"With the chef working right on the floor here, it gives a nice smell in the dining room, making it a very sensory thing," Roby said.

It also provides a rare break from the chocolate world for Roby and his staff.

"But only on Sundays," Esther said with a huge smile, reminding us that chocolate still represents the Robys' meal ticket.

Pleasure of summer: After last winter, we deserved a summer like this. It has been especially extraordinary for al fresco dining, and parts of the Tri-Cities are taking advantage.

River Street in Batavia has become a mecca of sorts for eating outdoors with many patrons doing so at O' Sole Mio and the new Gaetano's Batavia restaurants. Of course, Pal Joey's has an outdoor seating area full of diners right along the Fox River, and the other spots along that street, such as El Taco Grande and the River's Edge Bar and Grill, have a few tables outside as well.

Geneva's main outdoor dining areas have to be Fiora's along Third Street, or Aurelio's Pizza on State Street. There are plenty of others, of course, with outdoor seating, including the new Patten House restaurant and longtime favorites Ristorante Chianti and Gratto Italian Tapas.

St. Charles has some nice spots as well in the First Street Plaza, and the great setting at The Office on the east side of town.

Many other restaurants have added outdoor seating over time, so you just have to keep your eyes open for them if you enjoy eating a meal outside on a pleasant summer night.

Slice of heaven: So how do you beat this on a Friday night? A plate of Sergio's Cantina fish tacos on the outdoor deck overlooking State Street and then a stroll down Third Street in Geneva for some salted caramel ice cream from Kilwins.

There is a heaven on Earth after all.

That's a small?: I was braced for some excitement and potential shocks when recently going to see "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" at the movie theater. But I didn't expect the first shock to occur at the concession stand.

When I asked for a small popcorn and small Dr Pepper, I nearly fell on the floor when I saw the size of the "small" popcorn. The bucket was large enough to cover my head. The small drink was probably twice the amount of soft drink I would ever want in my body at one time.

Using some strange movie theater economics, the young lady behind the concession stand convinced me that this "small" combo was actually a better deal at $9 than buying a "mini," which itself was a fairly good-size cup of popcorn, and a small drink.

So, I actually learned more about the "Dawn of the Massive Popcorn" during this particular visit. I convinced myself that two or more people likely share what now passes as a small popcorn these days.

A grocery favorite: Batavia-based Aldi again has fared well in a survey asking consumers to rank their favorite low-price grocery stores. In fact, those shoppers tabbed Aldi as the best in that category. It also was in the top three of grocery stores overall.

If you don't mind sticking a quarter in a slot to get your shopping cart or bagging your own groceries, Aldi is a solid choice.

It all serves your pocketbook well.

A video whiz: Christian Surtz needs your vote to land a $5,000 scholarship in the Intellectual Property Video Contest.

Surtz, a Batavia resident and student at Marmion Academy, entered a video called "We're All Inventors" in the contest and earned a spot as one of four finalists in the competition for high school students.

The video is about "Knuckle Lights," a product that helps people stand out when running in the dark.

The online voting at ipvideocontest.com concludes Tuesday.

Tile, anyone?: Work continues on a new The Tile Shop location along Bent Tree in Geneva near the Eagle Brook Country Club.

The spot fills a storefront that Thomasville Furniture vacated about a year ago. It was being used for those quick "store closing" furniture fire sales that could pop up out of nowhere and leave just as quickly.

It's much better to have a stable business in place, and The Tile Shop should provide that.

dheun@sbcglobal.net