Chocolate Haven

Chocolate Haven

Max Brenner - NYC

I was walking with a friend one day in Manhattan and we hadn't yet eaten on our random trip to midtown for beads at a small hole in the wall shop called BeadKraft. If you are an avid jewelry maker, or a kandi-kid, this place is for you.

As we were walking I remembered someone telling me of a place where you could get Chocolate Pizza.
Once mentioned to my friend, without hesitation we were on our way to Max Brenner's, at 841 Broadway, between 13th and 14th, just half a block down from Union Square.

This place is no stranger to tourists and New Yorkers alike. When you walk in there is usually a long line and without a reservation you could wait up to an hour easily on a Saturday afternoon, and longer into the evening.  As you walk in there is a large vat of chocolate just enticing you to continue. We get on line and I put my name in and the hostess kindly asked for my cell phone number so they can text message me when my table is ready. This is the first and only place I have gone to that used this technology and I thought it was great. She said it would be a forty-five minute wait, but since they would text me, I could go anywhere in the area as long as we got back within ten minutes of receiving the text message.

Since we had time, we walked up to New York Costumes, Halloween Adventure , a block down Broadway to get some ideas for next Halloween. As we started walking to the back of the massive Halloween shop, I noticed I had already received a text message from Max Brenner's letting me know my table was ready. This was a surprise as only twenty minutes had passed.
We rushed back to get our seat and our journey into the chocolate world had begun.

They sat us near the front, at a small two person table, a little away from the rest of the crowd which was nice since the place was jam packed with tables and people. As you sit the waitress brings over two sets of menus. The first menu is the regular food menu, the second is their iconic chocolate menu.
We looked at each other and instantly pushed aside the regular food menu and went straight for dessert.

Our waitress was this young, really bubbly yet real college student from the local area. She knew exactly why we came to Max Brenner, the Chocolate. She showed us a few of their recommendations and let us explore the menu on our own.  Before she left, we ordered our drinks, which I had the Dark Chocolate Mocha.

We had decided to start with an appetizer of Classic European Chocolate Fondue.  You get to choose two different types of chocolate along with a caramel sauce. We had decided to go with both Milk and Dark Chocolate to "MAX" out our experience. As a main course we had decided to with the Chocolate Pizza, topped with marshmallows and bananas.

Dark Chocolate Mocha

Shortly after we ordered our delectable dinner, our drinks had arrived. My dark chocolate mocha was one of the best chocolate-coffee combinations I've ever ingested. It was sweet, chocolatey and  creamy,  with just the right amount of espresso. It definitely warmed me up on a cold Manhattan evening.  At times I wasn't sure if it was hot chocolate or coffee it was a perfect blend of the two. Too top it off they serve it in this adorable Hug Mug, which is designed to fit snugly between both hands with a smaller end to drink.


Just as I was starting to enjoy my Mocha, our first course had come out, the Chocolate Fondue.

Chocolate Fondue

The chocolate fondue was accompanied by two bowls of yummy goodness. One bowl had strawberries and bananas, while the other had marshmallows, Chocolate chip cookie chunks and Brownie bites.

This was definitely some of the best chocolate I've ever eaten, and definitely was the nicest display for fondue I've been presented with. It had a little bit of everything.

As we sat enjoying our fondue, our Chocolate Chunks Pizza arrived.

Chocolate Chunks Pizza

Now we had ordered it with Marshmallows and Bananas, but you also have the option of Peanut butter and hazelnut bits as toppings.  As had already been going to town on the fondue, we didn't know what we should eat next. Not to mention, we were already getting quite full.

I decided to improvise, as I love my Dark Chocolate and The pizza was amazing... what if i combined the two?? So I drizzled the Hot Dark Chocolate Fondue on top of my Chocolate Chunk, Banana and Marshmallow pizza.

Chocolate Chunks Pizza drizzled with Warm Dark Chocolate 

If one thing couldn't be better than the last, I was wrong, it was amazing. I might even suggest they add a Dark Chocolate Pizza to their menu. It was so delicious, but sadly I couldn't finish it. I couldn't bare leaving it, so I took it home in a doggy bag. I'll admit it wasn't the same eating it at home, but it would have been a shame to waste.

I must say my trip to this Chocolate Haven was definitely worth it. My friend and I often talk about returning on our next trip into the city. I hear the food at Max Brenner's is excellent as well but the Desserts are definitely one of my top picks in New York City.