Chocolate

Among the discerning with a sweet tooth, the quest for chocolate is a perfect obsession, with three of the classic gourmet’s favorite factors at play: 1) there’s a lot to know about chocolate, so you can impress both friends and wanna-bes with your erudition; 2) it’s an artisanal product; 3) one piece of great chocolate tastes like six years in paradise. The fourth factor, the health benefits, make you feel virtuous and smart as hell, but that’s just the frosting on the cake (or the filling in the handmade truffle). What about organic chocolate? Does it taste just as divine? Would it have still pushed Augustus Gloop up the pipe?



Pamela Hinckley of Seattle’s Theo Chocolates will unleash her knowledge of organic and fair trade chocolate during "The Virtues of Organic Chocolate" class Monday, Oct. 22 at the Bayview School of Cooking. Ask her about her basil and coconut curry chocolates. Crazy delicious!



[Bayview School of Cooking, Monday, Oct. 22, 6-8:30 p.m., $40 includes wine, 516 W. Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.754.1448]

Nibbles

The Mandolin Café’s annual Oktoberfest Dinner Celebration is Saturday, Oct. 13, starting at 5 p.m. Expect German food, drink and music in true Bavarian style. Dinner is $20. Beer tasting is $5. The Mandolin Café is at 3923 S. 12th St. in Tacoma.



The Bayview School of Cooking holds a calznoes hands-on class Monday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. The cost is $45. To reserve your space, call 360.754.1448.



Untitled Café inside the Tacoma Art Museum now offers happy hour specials from 5 to 7 p.m. every third Thursday as part of the Tacoma Third Thursday Art Walk.



The Tacoma Beer Society will drink themselves silly Saturday, Oct. 20 at Paddy Coyne’s in downtown Tacoma. Expect bagpipes, beer and debauchery.



Sea Grill hosts a five-course dinner paired with New Zealand wines Thursday, Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $95 per person. For reservations, call 253.272.5656.