Max Brenner’s name sparks excitement in me every time I hear it. And I'm not the only one. I’m partly hyped up because I’m a fan of chocolate in general, so anything chocolate-related gives me a pre-contact buzz. But also because there’s something special about walking into that restaurant.
It has chocolate beams in waves throughout the space, and behind the bar, melted white, milk and dark chocolate spins in swirls to be incorporated into their drinks, be it a shake, hot chocolate, slushie or something stronger.
When they reached out to me to try the new menu, which is revamped every so often, I was excited about the chocolate, but their elevation of classics extends way beyond just chocolate, making things like burgers and mac & cheese as much of an experience as dessert.
With World Chocolate Day Coming up on July 7th, how could I say no to a taste?
Let’s start with drinks, shall we?
Chocolate drinks are always a treat, but add a bit of rum or liquor to them and they’re even sweeter (pun intended). Some of their new seasonal drinks include the Tiramisu, a blend of cognac, kahlua, espresso, and milk chocolate, garnished with a ladyfinger, and the Dulce de Leche, myers dark rum, baileys, caramel, white and milk chocolate garnished with a churro.
Those are the two we tried, and with a generous pour of liquor, the flavors still stood out tremendously. The tiramisu had an incredible coffee flavor with a strong cognac finish. My only complaint was that the lady finger dissolved into mush before we had a chance to try it.
The churro stood its ground a little better and having the chocolate drink to dip it in was a perfect accompaniment. The drink itself had a bold chocolate flavor with hints of something buttery and salty, probably a combo of the rum and caramel. The whipped cream helped to soften the sweetness as well.
Onto the mains…
We were advised to try two newer dishes, the Oozing Mac n’ Cheese Burger (which we opted to be made with vegetarian burger as no one in my group was particularly a meat-eater) and the Veggie Triple Decker Sandwich. We also added a Mushroom Mac n’ Cheese order for good measure/a non-sandwich option.
The Mac n’ Cheese Burger was a phenomenal choice. It came topped with avocado, mac n’ cheese (of course), and the usual fixins, plus a side of waffle fries. It was a mess to eat, but worth every finger-licking bite. And yes, licking our fingers was required. The veggie burger turned out to be a great choice to compliment the heavier toppings, but we all commented that this would also be fantastic with a meaty, juicy burger.
The Veggie Triple Decker was also a challenge logistically. Did we mention they go for big here? Turns out, as great as it sounds and looks, three layers of any sandwich may be too big for my big mouth.
After some maneuvering, we were able to taste it in its full-bite glory. This thing is a veggie-lover’s dream come true. Three levels of bread with varied veggies and a spicy-but-not-too-spicy spread on the bottom (which my friend noted was perfectly placed so it didn’t cause the bread to become soggy before we ate the sandwich).
The Mac n’ Cheese, though incredibly heavy as all good macs should be, was truly satisfying. They use a smoky mozzarella that fooled us into thinking they may have snuck some bacon into the dish (they didn’t, they’re just that good with flavors), and the mushrooms were a smart compliment to give it some more earthy and mellow flavors over the powerful cheese and smoke.
And you can’t come here without dessert, right?
Having had their S’mores and S’mores pizza, I had to try something new in addition to a classic, so we opted for the Chocolate Chunk Pizza to share, and also got a syringe to go—can’t skip the icons, right?
The pizza included melted milk and white chocolate chunks and a choice of two toppings. We went with bananas and roasted marshmallow, and mannnnn did we choose right. My friend who doesn’t even like bananas couldn’t stop eating this even though we all commented how full we were just seconds before.
The combination of chocolate flavors and roasted marshmallow was addicting. Honestly, I could’ve eaten the topping without the pizza base and been totally cool with it. It was that well done.
Whether you go with their old menu items or their new ones, you can’t really go wrong here. From their, in my opinion highly underrated, main dishes to their desserts, there are great options for everyone and their new summer menu items are only temporary so get em while it’s hot.