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My New Favorite Nut Butter Tastes Exactly Like Fudgy Brownie Batter

Nut butter is a staple in my house. I can't be without it. Anytime I'm running low, I have to head to the store ASAP.

Typically, a jar of peanut butter is my spread of choice, but occasionally I'll reach for almond butter as well. I like its more subtle flavor for raspberry smoothies and yogurt bowls, and even smeared on toast. When chocolate's in the mix, it's a combination that just can't be beat. (Dark chocolate-covered almonds are one of my favorite ways to end a meal with a little something sweet).

Combining the two into a single spread, especially if it's ENZO'S TABLE Chocolate Almond Butter, is the ultimate luxury. Here's why.

Credit: Alexandra Foster Credit: Alexandra Foster

What You Should Know About ENZO'S TABLE Chocolate Almond Butter

This almond butter's got history. ENZO'S TABLE is a fourth-generation, family-owned business that grows, produces, and harvests fruits, nuts, and more in California's San Joaquin Valley. For more than a century, the Ricchiuti have been doing their thing, and later they transformed their roadside stand into a budding — and internationally recognized — retail business. (ENZO'S TABLE'S extra virgin olive oil has won gold medals at competitions in California, New York, Italy, and Japan. A selection of the company's pantry staples, including the original almond butter, also earn accolades at the Good Food Awards.)

The Chocolate Almond Butter is a relatively new product (it launched in 2021), and contains just four ingredients: roasted California almonds, ENZO'S TABLE'S own organic extra virgin olive oil, Guittard cocoa powder, and confectioners sugar. It is both kosher and dairy-free, and the 14-ounce jars can be found in ENZO'S TABLE'S California stores and online.

Credit: Alexandra Foster Credit: Alexandra Foster

My Honest Review of ENZO'S TABLE Chocolate Almond Butter

Opening the jar, I was instantly hit with a rich, chocolaty aroma that reminded me of a fudgy brownie batter, with a note of almonds at the end. I could see some olive oil settling at the top, so I grabbed a butter knife and gave the spread a quick stir (the same way I do for the peanut butters I buy).

Credit: Alexandra Foster Credit: Alexandra Foster

Funny enough, the consistency reminded me of brownie batter too. It was thick yet pourable — the perfect consistency for drizzling, with grainy flecks of ground-up almonds throughout.

Chocolate Almond Butter

Enzo's Table

$15.95

Buy Now

I tried it on its own first and was instantly transported to a chocolate dreamlike state. There's a deep, rich dark chocolate flavor, no doubt thanks to the Guittard cocoa powder (it's the brand of choice for pastry chefs, too!), that balances out the nuttiness of the almond butter. It isn't overly sweet, which can happen with lesser-quality chocolate nut butters that are a little too heavy-handed with the sugar. ENZO'S TABLE Chocolate Almond Butter feels decadent and luxurious. (I can't see myself having too much of it — a little goes a long way!)

Credit: Alexandra Foster Credit: Alexandra Foster

I then spread a thin layer onto a plain Costco croissant and made the most delicious, quick and easy snack — it tasted like a combo between an almond croissant and a pain au chocolat. The nuttiness and sweet chocolate notes pair beautifully with the buttery, flaky pastry.

Credit: Alexandra Foster Credit: Alexandra Foster

The next morning, I drizzled some on top of Greek yogurt with plum jam and some fresh homemade granola, and it was delicious. The tangy Greek yogurt, sweet-yet-sour jam, and luscious and nutty dark chocolate almond butter were a match made in heaven. This chocolate almond butter would also be great on top of ice cream, fruit, crêpes, pancakes, waffles — or just by the spoonful.

Buy: ENZO'S TABLE Chocolate Almond Butter, $15.95 for 14 ounces at ENZO'S TABLE

Have you tried this chocolate almond butter? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Inflation Be Damned: Olive Garden's Never-Ending Pasta Bowl Is Back And Butter Than Ever

Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and the annual "Never-Ending Pasta Bowl" promotion touted by a certain middlebrow Italian-flecked chain restaurant.

In a landscape awash in uncertainty, where the only constant is change, Olive Garden abides. Not only will it be bringing back the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl for its 27th year on the menu, but the price—$13.99—will be the same as last year, and the year before.

Although inflation apparently doesn't exist in the pocket universe occupied by the Garden, the pandemic and its aftershocks undoubtedly do. In 2020, the company put the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl into hibernation, to much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Two long years later, the company announced that high demand and "a return of pre-pandemic dining habits" permitted the bottomless bowls' resurrection.

"The promotion has long been our most popular offer because it reflects exactly what our loyal guests expect when they dine with us: never-ending, abundant, craveable Italian food at an everyday value." Truer words, Jaime Bunker, SVP of Marketing at Olive Garden, have never been spoken.

Indeed, in the grand tradition of unwavering steadfastness that the Olive Garden brand has come to represent, Bunker returned to roll out the bread carpet for the promotion this year.

"Never Ending Pasta Bowl is one of our guests' favorite times of year, and we're excited to welcome them back around our dining tables at the same price as the past two years," she said, presumably as angels trumpeted around her.

"We want to offer our guests a great value when they dine with us, and there's no better way than with endless pasta, soup or salad and breadsticks."

The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl will be available to diners who deem themselves worthy of the challenge for 12 glorious, gluttonous weeks, from Monday, August 26 until Sunday, November 17.

As food writer Helen Rosner wrote in 2017, Olive Garden "is a machine of memory." It remembers you, and it wants to welcome you back.

Pull up a chair. Select from the reassuringly familiar menu of fettuccine, spaghetti, angel hair, and rigatoni, and slather it in the goop of your choice: alfredo, traditional marinara, five cheese marinara, creamy mushroom, and meat sauce. Try not to think too hard about the fact that it's all a marketing tactic to drive traffic during the restaurant industry's historically sluggish pre-Thanksgiving weeks.

And, for the truly daring, there is also the option of adding a requisite never-ending topping—crispy chicken fritta, meatballs, or Italian sausage—for $4.99. An additional price, perhaps, but, once again, the same as in 2022.

All in all, more than 80 combinations of pasta bowls beckon, as boundless and timeless as the seas. As Rosner put it: "There is only one Olive Garden, but it has a thousand doors."

'A Chance To Tell Our Stories'A Look At This Weekend's BUTTER Art Fair

More than 60 different artists from across the country will be featured this weekend, with 100% of sales going to the artists.

INDIANAPOLIS — This is the fourth year the BUTTER fine art fair has taken over the Stutz Building in downtown Indianapolis, showcasing the work of Black artists.

More than 60 different artists from across the country will be featured this weekend, with 100% of sales going to the artists. The next four days will feature food, music, spoken word, live performances, and other fun activities. Organizers expect 12,000 people to attend.

For artist and Indianapolis native Kyng Rhodes, BUTTER has had a direct and positive impact on his business.

"We are talented. And we can contribute to art as a whole. But also, this gives us a chance to tell our stories. And hopefully there can be some education there," Rhodes said. "Through the work, people can understand why we've been upset ... Why we feel oppressed or were oppressed. Art is that outlet."

A street car collection of newly modified vehicles will be a new feature this year. Plus, there's a kid zone to help make the event more inclusive for families.

BUTTER runs through Sunday, Sept. 1.

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