The concept of Max Brenner: “Chocolate by the Bald Man is simple: it’s all about chocolate.” Entering the restaurant is probably the closest you can come to visiting Willy Wonka’s factory; stress melts away as the decadent chocolate smell permeates the senses. Though they do offer a standard menu of appetizers and entrées, the sweets menu is just as, if not more, extensive. This dental nightmare is for dessert lovers ready to indulge their sweet cravings.
The dessert menu offers a wide array of chocolate, dipping creams, fruits, ice cream, nuts, marshmallows, pralines, crepes, cakes, and cookies. Menu options offered as normal dishes in a regular restaurant are choclified, doused in cream and dubbed sweet treats. A round pastry with melted chocolate chunks, marshmallows, and candied hazelnut crunchy bits is a Chocolate Pizza. Waffles were no longer breakfast meals, but cake-like indulgences bathed in ice cream, chocolate, and other goodies. And forget Grandma’s chicken soup — Max Brenner’s version is a steaming bowl of melted dark, milk, or white chocolate.
The drinks arrived first. The Italian Thick Hot Chocolate ($5.25) and the Swiss Whipped Cream Chocolat ($5.25) tasted strikingly similar, but while the Italian version was given in a bowl-like mug with a mini-spoon, the Swiss one was poured into a thin glass, swirled with whipped cream, and served with an elegant metal spoon/straw (a spaw?). These drinks were intensely thick, putting diluted powdered chocolate packets to shame. Though only served lukewarm, these hot chocolates were overwhelming. Each sip tasted like a spoonful of melted chocolate, with some heavy cream added to lighten it up. A few slurps were enough.
As for the 70% cocoa Truffle ($11.50) … well, the plate looked pretty. Drizzled with chocolate, it included a small jug of chocolate sauce, a caramel yogurt, a bit of whipped cream, a small bowl of berries and a scoop of chocolate. And yet, even mixed with the side options, the truffle didn’t amount to anything more than thick, room temperature ice cream. While regular dark chocolate has a tinge of bitterness to it, this dessert was disappointingly mild.
The Brown Heart ($12.95), however — a warm chocolate cake filled with chocolate and peanut butter — revived the taste buds. The peanut butter complemented the luscious chocolate cake without smothering it while the vanilla ice cream provided the contrast that previous dishes had lacked.
The fondue was interactively fun; though the actual dippables were not as exciting. The marshmallows, strawberries and bananas were good, but the banana bread was a bit dry. The chocolate was tasty but nothing special. Perhaps the Vanilla Profiterole Fondue Skewers ($11.25) or the Churro Fondue ($11.25) would have had more a “wow” factor.
A quote on the wall summed it up: “Yummy… stop it Max, this is already too much.” This is a great spot to split a gourmet dessert or celebrate a birthday, but I wouldn't recommend gorging on too much chocolate. Your eyes may have a love affair with the menu, but but don’t let the Bald Man coerce you into over-ordering, unless you want to roll out of your chocolate dream feeling nauseous and grumbling about a stomachache.
Max Brenner
1500 Walnut St.
(215) 344-8150
Don’t miss: The Brown Heart
Skip: The Hot Chocolate
