nosh nook #80 - friday, july 3, 2009

chocolate pinnacle: max brenner's new place takes the treat to a new tier (link)
07.02.09 - philadelphia daily news - by howard gensler

scientific fact: chocolate is pretty much the best thing ever. my only complaint about it is that it isn't more easily worked into every single food experience, but in nyc, there's a place that's trying to make that dream a reality--max brenner chocolate bar & restaurant. there are two locales here & i went to one of them a few years back for a random bday party. i had the bagel with melted chocolate & peanut butter. it was pretty tame compared to the rest of the stuff on the menu, but it still rocked my face.

brenner's now opened up his first philadelphia restaurant & according to the philadelphia daily news' howard gensler, it's just the next step in his success story. that story "began with a small chocolate shop in israel 13 years ago. a man from australia came into the store, went nuts for brenner's handmade chocolates and offered him the chance to expand to the other side of the world." now there are locations in australia, singapore, the phillipines, israel & the u.s...a friggin' chocalicious empire. the new one in philly is in the rittenhouse sq area pf philly. trendy! the perfect area for brenner's mission--"developing a chocolate culture." philly could use more chocolate culture.

since max brenner's basically obsessed with chocolate & that's the theme of the place, a majority of the items on the menu are made with chocolate. as the article mentions, there are drinks like the chocolate disco cocktail & the suckao--a drink "in which you concoct your own warmth by mixing milk and chocolate over a burning candle." there are breakfast dishes like the aforementioned bagel & the chocolate chocolate chocolate pancakes. there are dinner items like vidalia onion rings with a dark chocolate ranch dipping sauce & the chocolate pizza. when it's time for dessert, they've obviously got you covered as well.

you'd think all that chocolate might be bad for you, but as brenner is quoted as saying, "my grandfather lived to 98 and every day he downed a shot of whiskey and ate chocolate. happiness and fun are the key for health, and chocolate makes it happy." clearly, brennan is obsessed.  it could be worse though.  at least he's obsessed with chocolate & not mariah carey.