2013 Center City Restaurant Week @ Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man

As I mentioned in my previous post, Philadelphia's Center City District is hosting a restaurant week where a three-course lunch cost $20 and a three-course dinner cost $35. This was a great chance for me to try out a new restaurant without having to break the bank. Food events like this are especially helpful to recent college grads who have yet to find employment...an example would be me. Anywho! I made a reservation to eat lunch at Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man with my boyfriend and another couple.

Once you enter the restaurant, there was a chocolate shop on the right where they sold their chocolates, hug-mugs, and any chocolate related souvenir they could think of. I really liked how they designed the place because it felt as if we were in a chocolate factory. To me, it was a bit of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory mixed with Alice in Wonderland. You'll see what I mean about the Alice in Wonderland part later on in this post.


First Course - Appetizers
I ordered the creamy spinach and artichoke fondue that came with warm chili dusted tortilla chips and the boyfriend ordered the smoky dry rubbed chicken wings with creamy bleu cheese for dipping. The fondue was pretty good, but the tortilla chips were a bit oily. I think they make it in-house. As for the chicken wings, they were delicious and there was no need to add additional taste to it with the bleu cheese. The other option for the appetizer was southwestern caesar salad, which we weren't interested in and neither were our friends. Here are some pictures of the apps:

Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Fondue

Smoky Dry Rubbed Chicken Wings

Second Course - Entree
As for the second course, the options were: autumn waffle salad, chicken and goat cheese waffle salad, the brenner burger, and grilled chicken panini. I had planned to order the grilled chicken panini without the goat cheese and hoped that they would be able to replace it with something like cheddar cheese. Unfortunately, their paninis were already pre-made, so they weren't able to substitute the goat cheese for a different cheese for me. So, I ordered the brenner burger with waffle fries dusted with chili and cocoa powder instead. My boyfriend ordered the same thing and so did one of our friends. The only different order was the chicken and goat cheese waffle salad that our other friend ordered. Here are the pictures:

The Brenner Burger

Chicken and Goat Cheese Waffle Salad

Do you see the little beaker with the salad dressing? Isn't it cute!?! That's what I meant by the Alice in Wonderland theme. You can also see this in their specialty drinks.

Third Course - Dessert <3
For the last course, we were given the option to pick the banana chocolate with peanut butter crepe or the assorted dark bonbons paired with a double espresso. You can see the Alice in Wonderland theme again here in the crepe picture. That's a beaker filled with chocolate ganache. The other two were melted peanut butter for dipping and vanilla ice cream. I chose the crepe and the boyfriend chose the bonbons option. I was able to try some of the bonbons and they were delicious. The chocolate were very smooth and blended well. I think our favorite one was the dark chocolate with whiskey. Surprisingly, I couldn't taste the alcohol, which is a plus for me because I don't like it.

Banana Chocolate with Peanut Butter Crepe

Assorted Dark Bonbons paired with a Double Espresso

Besides ordering the restaurant week three-course lunch set. We also ordered two cups of hot chocolate. The one below is the milk hot chocolate with marshmallows and the other one not shown here was white hot chocolate. You had the option of choosing what kind of chocolate (milk, dark, or white) and how it's made (ex. classic, with marshmallows, with whipped creme, etc). The mug they used for this drink was called a "hug mug." According to the Max Brenner's website, "the mug is shaped so that you can hug it in both hands to create the ultimate experience of coziness, warmth and fragrance." It was one of the items in their chocolate shop, so if you wanted it, you could purchase it after your meal.

Milk Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows

All pictures shown here was taken by the boyfriend on his iPhone 5.

Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man
1500 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
www.maxbrenner.com

Parking: Street parking is available around the area. There are also a few parking garages around.