In the immortal words of Cathy, “Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! AACK!” Whether you’re leaning into the whole commercial aspect of Valentine’s Day, fighting a raging case of PMS, or just looking to eat your feelings, chocolate is always the answer. When the craving strikes, it’s tempting to just raid the candy aisle at Target (hello, Ghirardelli squares), but that would be a real shame when there are so many local chocolate shops and talented artisan chocolatiers. And with cacao increasingly going the way of high-end coffee—think single-source, fair trade, small-batch—consumers can now experience complex and inventive chocolates that put Hershey to shame. To help you up your chocolate eating game, DCist has prepared a list of our favorite local chocolate shops below.

Photo by Nikoo Yahyazadeh

ARTISAN CONFECTIONS: The chocolates from Virginia-based Artisan Confections are almost too beautiful to eat—almost. Artisan Confections specializes in handmade truffles formed into impeccable squares and imprinted with delicate geometric or nature-inspired patterns. The shop offers a seasonal selection of truffles made with high quality ingredients like Valrhona chocolate, Tahitian vanilla beans, and locally grown mint. With flavors like Earl Grey tea, red wine, and butterscotch made with real scotch, a box from Artisan is a far cry from your grandma’s Whitman’s sampler. But if you want to wow someone with a jewel box of chocolates, Artisan is well worth it. And if truffles aren’t your thing, the store also offers a selection of chocolate-enrobed nuts, chocolate bark, and chocolate bars stuffed with caramel, nuts, marshmallows, and peanut butter. —Alicia Mazzara

Artisan Confections has two locations, 1025 N. Fillmore Street in Arlington, Va. and 2910 District Avenue in Fairfax, Va.

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE: The Park sisters, Frances and Ginger, opened Chocolate Chocolate, D.C.’s first independent chocolate shop, in 1984. It’s a tiny place, wedged incongruously into a strip of office buildings and retail outlets that dwarf it, but the Parks have managed to fit in enough European and American chocolates and chocolate-covered treats to keep most of Connecticut Avenue wired for several days. Their chocolate bar features a constantly churning urn of extra-thick hot drinking chocolate, as well as the requisite assortment of house truffles. D.C. die-hards and out-of-towners alike may want to take home a District landmark rendered in dark, milk, or white chocolate, such as the White House, Capitol dome, or the Jefferson Memorial. —Jenny Holm

Chocolate Chocolate is located at 1130 Connecticut Avenue NW.

CHOCOLATE MOOSE: First things first: Chocolate Moose isn’t strictly a chocolate shop. It’s a gift shop that sells some very tempting chocolate, along with a hodge-podge of other quirky gift items, from a pizza cutter shaped like a motorcycle and a crazy cat lady action figure to a waving solar-powered pope and, of course, plenty of moose-themed paraphernalia. As far as the chocolate goes, the colorful shop carries an assortment of bulk treats, fancy chocolate in boxes, bars, and baggies, and Leonidas Belgian truffles sold by the piece. —Jenny Holm

Chocolate Moose is located at 1743 L Street NW.

CO CO. SALA: Co Co. Sala is more akin to a high-end jewelry dealer, except with expensive chocolate instead of jewelry. Though the main function of Co Co. Sala is a restaurant, there’s an adjacent “chocolate boutique” that features an array of delectable, albeit pricy, artisanal chocolate treats. Of the stuff I sampled, the “Strawberry Jammin”—with white chocolate, popping rocks, and dried strawberries, and the various chocolate “mood tube” flavors were quite delicious. I would not recommend the aphrodisi-bark II, which my roommates described (I brought a bunch of chocolate home for them to sample) as tasting like “what a Marshall’s smells like.” I don’t really get artisanal chocolate, but some of Co Co. Sala’s stuff was quite delicious. —Matt Cohen

Co Co. Sala is located at 929 F Street NW.

COCOVA: Dupont Circle’s Cocova has an intimidating selection of incredibly unique artisanal chocolate flavors. With a friendly, knowledgable staff who can help you navigate the many, many selections, there’s some truly delicious flavors in there, such as the bananas foster-flavored chocolate, champagne-fig flavored, and, uh, a beer-flavored chocolate that’s surprisingly good. —Matt Cohen

Cocova is located at 1904 18th Street NW.

FLEURIR HAND GROWN CHOCOLATES: The truffles at Fleurir are like tiny works of art, embossed with minuscule flowers or sprinkled with the sparest flick of cocoa or seeds. These handmade beauties also boast some of the most inventive flavors around, like toffee wattleseed, sesame hazelnut, and rosebud cardamom. Fleurir also sells bars inspired by different regional flavors—the Southwest bar features chili and cinnamon, while the Great Plains bar is studded with salty buttered breadcrumbs. There’s even a Georgetown bar made with salted pretzels and butterscotch toffee. Sadly, the other D.C. neighborhoods do not have their own chocolate bars yet. (I’m still waiting for the Mount Pleasant bar, a white chocolate pupusa filled with dulce du leche and organic dried kale.) And, for something completely different, you can even pick up some chocolate-covered Virginia honeycomb to munch on. For chocolate lovers looking for something to really push their palates, Fleurir is the place. —Alicia Mazzara

Fleurir Hand Grown Chocolates is located at 724 Jefferson Street, Alexandria, Va.

J. CHOCOLATIER: J. Chocolatier sells handmade, small batch chocolate bars and truffles. The tiny shop is only open on the weekends, but visitors will be rewarded with an array of gorgeous seasonal confections. Glossy bars are scattered with dried fruit, citrus peels, and nuts; a particularly stunning option features a fossilized ammonite shell pressed into the surface and then dusted with edible gold powder. The piece de resistance, however, are the fleur de sel caramels: dark chocolate truffles filled with buttery liquid caramel and crowned with a sprinkle of crunchy salt crystals. These babies are, unsurprisingly, J. Chocolatier’s best seller. —Alicia Mazzara

J. Chocolatier is located at 321 7th Street SE (2nd Floor).

KRON CHOCOLATIER: If you like your chocolate to look like something else—a teddy bear, calculator, or even a woman’s nude leg—Kron Chocolatier has you covered. This family-owned chocolate store makes all their chocolates on-site, including a quirky selection of molded chocolates (mmm, chocolate lady torso). However, they’re most famous for their Budapest cream truffles, made with dark chocolate and whipped cream. With all that dairy, the truffles need to be stored in the freezer and should be eaten promptly after taking them out. Kron also features many a chocolate dipped item, including oreos, gummy bears, rice krispy treats, and potato chips. —Alicia Mazzara

Kron Chocolatier is located at 5300 Wisconsin Avenue NW.

THE SUGAR CUBE: The Sugar Cube has a wide selection of chocolates, from artisan truffles to retro candies of a bygone era. The store also stocks various high-end chocolate bars as well as novelty items like chocolate-covered bacon. And while The Sugar Cube may not craft their own bars, but they do trade in homemade fudge, available by the pound. For something less fancy, there is also a kaleidoscope of bulk candies and chocolates, because sometimes you just want a bag of malted milk balls. —Alicia Mazzara

The Sugar Cube is located at 1218 King Street, Alexandria, Va.