Fleurir Chocolate Shop By Owners Robert Ludlow And Ashley Hubbard

Eating chocolate has become like traveling around the world, with elite bars hailing from São Tomé, Ecuador and Ghana.

But the new Georgetown chocolate shop Fleurir is sticking to home turf, taking customers on an all-American road trip of chocolate.

Owners Robert Ludlow and Ashley Hubbard developed a loyal following for their ganache-filled chocolates at area farmers' markets and shops. At Fleurir, the couple has debuted a collection of whimsical bars ($7.50 each), every one inspired by a different region of the country.

The South Bar draws inspiration from long summer feasts. The milk chocolate bar combines bites of bacon with smooth, hickory-smoked caramel.

The Midwest Bar mixes flashes of tart, chewy Michigan cherries and black walnuts into dark chocolate. The tea- and coffee-centric Northwest region inspired a spiced chai bar with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in milk chocolate.

The bars also have a touch of tongue-in-cheek stereotyping. The Great Plains, home to those vast fields of waving grain, receive a crisp dark-chocolate bar speckled with salted breadcrumbs. The Northeast bar features pure Vermont maple syrup in the form of maple-pecan toffee.

Each bar's package is also decorated with an original drawing to represent the region and the flavors inside.

All together, they're a mosaic of national flavor.

Fleurir Chocolates, 3235 P St. NW (at Wisconsin Ave.); 202-465-4368 or fleurirchocolates.com