Where: Max Brenner (1500 Walnut and 15th Streets)
What:  Waffle fries dusted with chili & cocoa powder, spicy chicken & three cheese pizza, lemon & herb roasted chicken, white chocolate hot chocolate with wafer balls, Mexican spicy dark hot chocolate

Um. Yum. 

Haig and I went to Max Brenner for dinner and hot chocolate on Friday night. We had been there before for his birthday to get drinks and desserts with friends, but we had never had any of their actual food because it is mostly known for its chocolate products. We gave it a try, though, and it was really worth it.

Haig was really intrigued by the way their menu was structured. It’s divided by the way you would eat the dish: with your hands, with a knife & fork, etc., so we were already off to an original start. I got the pizza, and although it looks large, the crust is super super thin so you don’t actually feel like you’re eating a mountain. All the cheeses and toppings were flavorful and perfectly balanced. Haig doesn’t even like goat cheese and he thought it was “delicious.” Success! The waffle fries were good and they came with a sort of chipotle mayo sauce that was pretty amazing. 

I would have to say that my favorite thing of the night, though, was the hot chocolate that came in these little HugMugs that you cup in your hands when it’s cold out for warmth (not that that was our problem). I got the Mexican spicy hot chocolate (because you’ll soon learn that I love spicy anything), and IT WAS SO YUMMY. It was dark chocolate with nutmeg, chili, and jalepeño, and the flavor completely changed depending on the size of the sip. Amazing, and highly recommended. I don’t even like white chocolate, but Haig’s order was pretty good, too, and it came “rife with balls”— meaning that it was filled to the brim with mini wafer balls that you can’t really see in the photograph.

All in all, very, very, very good meal, especially for those with a Willy Wonka fetish.