Max Brenner Chocolates Union Sq not so good?

[seal]

Hello:

Had a bunch of people hungry for chocolate and thought we would try Max Brenner. What a mistake! The short story is overpriced and not nearly yummy enough.

We had the fondue (watery, not rich chocolate), the brownie (dry and crumbly), and the mess ( it really was a mess and not worth getting dirty over).

Was this an off day or is it always this bad?

seal

[billyboy]

I had really good Jacques Torres at a tree lighting in DUMBO last week and it was like thick, chocolately velvet wrapped around my tummy! Amazing! Right after that, I went to their shop and got a Wicked Hot Chocolate. I was underwhelmed. It seemed thin compared to the original and didn't have much of a bite to it. I was really expecting it to be spicy.

[zorgclyde]

Financier for chocolate cake.

I went to MB and got their spicy hot chocolate too. It was decent but not worth $4, Jacque Torres was $2 and far better.

And there's still Claude's, which I have yet to visit b/c everytime I'm there it's after 9pm...

[scrittrice]

I love the hot chocolate at Jacques Torres.

[souldawg]

What's a good place for bakery goods and hot chocolate then that's below City Bakery? Is there any?

[mrnyc]

CHOCOLATE BAR for one.

[marlie202]

Max Brenner is opening a new store on 2nd ave. and 10th st--had a sample of their italian milk hot chocolate-was yummy-tasted like choco pudding

[kathryn]

I had some last night around 12:30am and while it was nice to get good hot chocolate that late, it was insanely overpriced. Over $5 (including tax) for the Italian Hot Chocolate?

The cup has a dark brown textured design on it so it looks like they already put a cupholder on there, but they actually don't. All the cardboard cupholders they have are too big for the hot chocolate cup. And the guy manning the counter didn't want to give me a 2nd cup so I wouldn't burn my hands, instead telling me to turn the too-large cupholder upside down and place the cup inside. Weird.

Plus, I think the cup only held about 6 oz. Thanks, but I don't think I'll be going back too often unless I'm out walking the dog at midnight.

[billyboy]

Cheesecake Factory of chocolate!! I wish I had though of that. It perfectly describes it. I went there and couldn't believe how expensive everything is! I had a hot chocolate and though it was pretty good. Bitter and creamy, just how I like it. But to paraphrase John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, "That's a $4 hot chocolate? You don't put any bourbon in that or anything? It's pretty good. I don't know if its worth $4, but its pretty damn good!"

[fulminating]

just there this weekend w/my wife and friends. i had high hopes with its convenient location, but i'm come to accept that it's cheesecake factory of chocolate--accessible middlebrow fare. ok pricing, but really unexceptional quality. so of course, if they're looking for american investors, i'd queue up! :P

and yes, it's quite the college scene. i imagine that many nyu dates will be held there.

[2girls]

Ate there for the 1st time on Friday (lunch). The food was ok, but nothing special. I thought the desserts looked great but tasted just "good". There were 6 of us, and the only rave reviews came from my 8yr old. By the way, just be warned: the service is terrible.

[paparouna]

i was so disappointed in this place. i had the spicy hot chocolate which was neither spicy nor chocolatey. everything was just off. we had a varity of dessrts none of which measured up. there are too many great chocolate places in ny to waste time (or calories) on a repeat visit to this place.

[BabkaGal]

I also recently tried the spicy hot chocolate, and it was a waste of $4. I agree that it was neither spicy nor chocolatey...it tasted like bland hot milk and was overall a big disappointment!

Next time, I'm going to City Bakery for their hot cocoa and homemade marshmallows.

[ellenost]

No it wasn't an off day. The recent review in New York magazine get's it right. The Italian hot chocolate is wonderful, but not much else. Thank goodness for the takeout counter. It is definitely a scene to check out if you're a college student, since that seemed to be the majority of the diners. It's definitely not for chocolate lovers--go to Jacques Torres instead.

[Lucia]

I tried the Italian style hot chocolate the other weekend, and I don't think that's that good. It's not nearly as rich as City Bakery's. My boyfriend, who can't drink CB b/c it's too much, liked the thinner Max Brenner version. It didn't measure up for me.

[mrnyc]

tell you bf to get his CB hot chocolate cut in half with coffee. thats the only way i can drink it myself.

MB is some kind of marketing gimmick, it wont last.