A Caffeinated Love Affair

The Chocolate Espresso Martini at Caldone’s Restaurant in Joplin melts our hearts with its chocolaty-goodness.

By Ettie Berneking

Caldone’s Restaurant
218 S. Main St., Joplin
417-626-8111, caldones.com

Cost: $8

What’s Inside:  Van Gogh Double Espresso coffee-flavored vodka, Kahlua, Carolans Irish Cream, Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

What it Tastes Like: Caldone’s is one of those restaurants that’s just fun to go to. Once inside, the dimmed lighting, vintage street lamps and carved wooden bar transport patrons back in time to old-world Italy where cannoli and grappa keep conversations going late into the night. Along with a slew of made-from-scratch Italian dishes, Caldone’s has a hefty martini menu that would make any true Italian shout “amore!” 

Bartender Mark Malan has spent years perfecting his signature cocktails and martinis. And one of his best sellers, the Chocolate Espresso Martini, has reached perfection. To be fair, I’m always a fan of coffee, so when Mark said he could make me an espresso martini, I couldn’t resist.

The martini tastes exactly like it sounds—like a melted Milky Way coated in espresso. Its creamy texture gives it a luxuriously smooth body with subtle notes of espresso and chocolate. And even though this is a vodka-based drink, that burn of alcohol is absent. So saddle on up to the bar; this is one decadent martini that could easily inspire a European romance.

See this article at: http://www.417mag.com/417-Magazine/March-2013/Caldones-Restaurant-Joplin-Mo/#sthash.8oOntbQR.dpuf