By Tedi Lowney

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013

On the 1500 Block of Walnut Street, just three blocks from City Hall in the more upscale side of town, you’ll see the trendy restaurant with bold, capital letters reading, “MAX BRENNER Chocolate by the Bald Man.” From the outside looking in, dainty white Christmas lights can be seen, strewn throughout the large and usually bustling combination restaurant-bar-and-shop. It looks almost like a year-round Christmas party; somehow at the same time exclusive looking, yet warm and inviting.

Inside, you’ll see that Max Brenner’s is at once a restaurant, bar, museum, and chocolate shop: a display of everything chocolate means to Brenner, and what he insists it mean to us. It’s hard to be in-and-out. If you don’t plan on spending, you’ll take twenty minutes just to soak up what’s around you. . .

      

Inside Max Brenner’s                                                     Bald Man Icon

Photo Credit: Tedi Lowney                                                       Photo Credit: Tedi Lowney

For the Love of Chocolate

Before you think this is just a gimmick, have the wait staff tell you the history and mission of the Bald Man, who is actually a symbol, based on two people: Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner. Brenner an Israeli writer who traveled to Paris in his youth and became an apprentice in a small chocolate and pastry shop. Paris is where he fell in love, and where this “chocolate love story” all started.

As you’ll see for yourself, this establishment is more than just brilliant branding – it embodies a philosophy that “Max Brenner”  wants to spread to the world. Indeed, for the bald man, chocolate is a pastime and an obsession.                                                                                                     Brenner Painting

                                                                                                                                         Photo Credit: Tedi Lowney

Oded’s work is not just in the recipes and on the menu. A writer and a dreamer, he and his partner wanted to start a movement and by accident, became the consummate marketers for the food that he loves. His design is on the walls and in frames-quotes, patterns, paintings – and appliances, books, tins, tee-shirts, and numerous novelty items.

With the first establishment in Israel (ALL of Max Brenner’s chocolate is imported from Israel), the movement has spread to Australia, Singapore, the Philippines…and now has dozens of locations globally, including six in the US: Philadelphia,  Las Vegas, Boston, and Bethesda, MD and two in New York City.

What Max Brenner wants the world to feel is that, “Chocolate is not just about the taste. It portrays contradictory aspects of our lives: Romance. Sensuality. Decadence. These aspects are the foundations of the new Max Brenner Chocolate Culture.”

When you’re there, you forget you’re in a restaurant, run by a company. You’re taking part in a story, a dream. And you leave with a lifestyle impression. That, I think is the goal of these two men. Not just to get people to spend money, but to restore good feelings and to deliver an immersive experience. Within the message of the magic of chocolate, Max Brenner reminds us to stop and smell the roses –  to hold onto our spirits. He does so by capturing our senses.

While this company has been a massively luxurious commercial success, it managed to keep this spirit alive. In fact, if it weren’t for this spirit to begin with, Max Brenner would not have become the global movement that it is today.

An Immersive Story: Multidimensional Branding

Indeed, the entire establishment is a craft, itself. It is about the Brenner experience, and the Brenner experience is about appealing to the senses and imagination, through his chocolate love story.

He makes sure there is plenty to look at and interact with, so as to (not so subtly) infuse sensuality and nostalgia into your visit:

From floor to ceiling, these walls are splashed with paintings by Brenner and friends, and silly sayings and quotes:

    

Authentic Artwork by Brenner and Friends 

                                                                                                                               Photo Credit: Tedi Lowney

The shop is filled with an overwhelming array of treats and novelty items, from chocolate cash tins to first aid kits for “Anonymous Chocoholics” :

      

Novelty Chocolate Treats

                                                                                                                            Photo Credit: Tedi Lowney

Above: Chocolate comes in syringes, test tube pills, and cigarette boxes. According to Max Brenner, “Chocolate represents contradictory aspects of our lives.” This is one of the mottos behind his chocolate culture.

At the same time, weaved into much of this chocolate “story” is the theme of childhood. You’ll pick up on Alice and Wonderland references, and recall Willy Wonka with the whimsical decor and the chocolate vats melting white, milk, and dark at the chocolate bar.

His customers, who are readers, viewers, and diners alike, are reminded to stop and savor – not only tastes but memories. Brenner feels that chocolate and nostalgia are inextricable. At the shop I found a small tin with the face of a child on it. A short memo describes a nighttime ritual between parent and child, hugging their mugs (Plug: Hug Mug). It reads, “I think to myself that once upon a time when I was small just like him, I knew more of the answers to the questions I know today.” Brenner asks the customer to slow down. He asks us to hold onto childhood.

The appliances and utensils, designed by Brenner himself, help to tell a chocolate story:

The Alice cup is “the ultimate milkshake cup,” which Brenner created with inspiration from the story, Alice in Wonderland. Down the side of this white glass reads, “DRINK ME,” referencing the small container that Alice finds after she falls down the rabbit hole, also reading “Drink Me.” The opening at the top is shaped in a crescent to mimic the smile of the Cheshire Cat.

                                      Novelty “Alice” Milkshake Cup

                                                                                          Photo Credit: Tedi Lowney

The Suckao is another utensil used in the restaurant and also for sale in the chocolate shop. It is the concentrated chocolate shot, “the espresso of chocolate drinks.” A short and round egg-shaped cup holds a tea light in the bottom and a shot – sized metal bowl atop the candle for no more than a piece of chocolate to melt.

“Suckao is made up of two words describing the utensil and the unique drinks : ‘Suck,’ inhaling the dense liquid through the metal tube; and ‘Kakao,’ the Spanish word for cocoa beans from which the pure chocolate drink is made and which determine its quality.”

The Hug Mug is designed to appeal to the senses. Made of porcelain, and missing a handle, it is meant to be “hugged” between the hands, and will not get too hot to hold. It is tear-shaped rather than round, not just for aesthetic but also to waft the smell of the chocolate beverage up to your nose. The tear shape also keeps sugar from settling at the bottom by making the liquid swirl and flow from the bottom of the cup to the lip of the mug with each sip.

The Kangaroo Cup is named for the small “pouch” along the lip of the cup meant to hold chocolate, which then melts and falls into the cup as it is warmed by the beverage inside. It comes with a two sided – the “Mix and Lick” – spoon. One side is for stirring the beverage and the other is for scooping/licking the chocolate remains in the pouch. The design is that of a chocolate lover – he wants the diner to enjoy every last drop.

Choco-centric: An Unusual Palette

Brenner may seem crazed. He has defied the convention of leaving dessert for last. You may be pleasantly surprised by the fried onion petals and chocolate-ranch dipping sauce!

Here we find creative tastes and unusual combinations arranged with the purposefully designed utensils. Chocolate dominates the many unusual dishes on the menu – deserts, entrées, and drinks alike. Indeed, those dining here come for a treat, and in an experimental mood. Frank Bruni of the New York Times talks about Max Brenner in his article, You Can Almost Eat the Dishes. Of Brenner, he says, “He’s audacious, not only taking advantage of chocolate’s known permutations but also finding new assignments for it. Chocolate subs for cream cheese on a bagel, for tomato sauce on a waxy “pizza,” for chicken stock in a so-called soup. The fullness of Max Brenner’s commitment to its theme is impressive and, at times, amusing” (NYTimes).

Before sitting down, one must peruse the chocolate SHOP if not to purchase a souvenir, then to feel the awe of the Bald Man.  Sample the chocolate and learn ways it can be used that you were never aware of, and witness for yourself the clever presentation of chocolate as a commodity and brand. The shop is decked with an impressive collection, which perhaps seems even more bountiful because of the variety of packaging. Here we are so immersed  we forgive completely that we’re being sold. Once inside, I wholly believe in the “chocolate love affair,” beyond a marketing scheme. The toy tins, the “retro-packs,”  chocolate thins in what looks like a chocolate cigarette pack, mugs filled with chocolate waffle balls, chocolate appliances, and chocolate dispensers give the sense that I’m in a chocolate factory.

“A Chocolate Love Story” can be purchased at the restaurant for $25.99

Photo Credit: Tedi Lowney

65 wild recipes inside include:

Bohemian French Toast Chocolate Sandwitches

Military Porridge

Handsome Tiramisu

Kinky Pavlova

Innocent Meringue Kisses

Dependable Banana Cupcakes

Intimate Hungarian Crepes                                                

Alternative Milk Chocolate Mousse

Tacky Double Chocolate Fondue

Dreamy Warm Danish

Bad Boy Chocolate Pizza,

And many many more

 

Check out the “Sweets” menu, Food menu, and Kids “Secret Chocolate Menu,” here  

LOCATED AT:  1500 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19102

References:

Bruni, Frank. “You Can Almost Eat the Dishes.” New York Times. 2 May 2007: n. page. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/dining/reviews