PLACES YOU CAN HANG – L.A. Burdick (Harvard Square) 52 Brattle St D, Cambridge, MA 02138

I used to think L.A. Burdick was a French chocolate shop, and mispronounced it with an affected French accent for years (Le Burdeek) until my French friend corrected me. It’s not French, but it is a delicious place to bring a date to warm up on a cold January afternoon or to pick up a gift for someone who enjoys extremely expensive chocolate. While the chocolate is a bit pricey, the shop truly excels at drinks and cakes, and after one sip of their dark, creamy hot chocolate, you’ll know that a Dunkin’ will never again suffice. The only hazard of this perfect cafe is the film that inevitably accrues on your upper lip, but a chocolate moustache is a small price to pay for the pleasure of drinking warm, thick chocolate from a heavy porcelain mug.
The Harvard Square outpost feels like a Viennese cafe, and if you can find a spot on a cold day, it is an excellent spot to hibernate with some Zuger Kirsch and a copy of the Compass (or whatever). The Back Bay shop is usually less crowded, but no less charming, and though I find myself there less often, I’ve been known to stop in before catching a concert from the Trinity Choir, which feels about as old-world as it gets. It’s January, folks—let your sugar high mitigate the effects of seasonal depression.
—Jennie Rose Halperin