Portland's East End restaurant district, which is home to such delicious eateries as Hugo's, Micucci's, Duckfat and Ribollita, just gained a new foodie storefront. Dean's Sweets opened up shop on Saturday. Located between Rabelais books and the Pepperclub, the chocolatier is offering up 18 flavors of hand-dipped, Belgian dark chocolate goodness.

These include flavors such as cinnamon, coffee and blueberry. I had the thrill of trying the cayenne variety, which was a perfect blend of sweet and hot. People who really like the heat will want to try the super cayenne, which I hear has three times the amount of cayenne.

"Super cayenne started out as a mistake," owner Dean Bingham tells me. "It's nice to be able to eat your mistakes."

Sounds like a sweet job, indeed.

For those of us who like a little booze with our chocolate, we can't go wrong with the brandy, rum, scotch or tequila lime flavors. And if anyone on your shopping list has a nut allergy or sensitivity, you'll be happy to know Dean's Sweets never uses any nuts or nut extracts in its chocolates.

Should you need a gift in a hurry, just pop in and grab one of the pre-packaged gift boxes. The 8-packs sell for $17.50 and the 16-packs go for $27.50. Sounds like a sweet gift to me.

Dean's Sweets is located at 82 Middle St. It's open Mon.-Fri. 11 am-8 pm, Sat. 10 am-8 pm and Sun. 10 am-6 pm. FMI call 774-7779.