This week ">Bruni goes to Max Brenner, the fictional chocolatier (chain is owned by two businessmen, Max Fichtman and Odel Brenner). Awards no stars, calls it "a mass market endeavor as gimmicky as Planet Hollywood. It’s Planet Valrhona, a vaux artisanal juggernaut." He tries the non-dessert offerings; finds them weak. Then it’s on to the desserts, which "lack the richness or sharpness that great chocolate has." Also in the Times, Peter Meehan visits Fette Sau......

This week'sNew York Magazine wraps up some of the city's best cups of hot chocolate -- you know, the kind that drinks like a meal. Their top choice, the decadent cup at City Bakery ($2), is rich enough to make even the most passionate chocolate lover feel close to overdose levels (don't forget that February is the month where they feature a new hot chocolate flavor every day). Other mentions include the gianduja hot chocolate......

While others are writing year end lists about their favorite restaurant openings (yeah, we know, A Voce, Little Owl, Boqueria), we thought we'd do something a bit different and highlight some of your favorite posts of the year. These are the food posts that either got you so riled up that you felt the need to put in your two cents in the comments or that, for whatever reason, you wanted to recommend to others.......

Chocoholics rejoice! Last night Gothamist finally spied signs of elf-like movement in the new 2nd Avenue branch of Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man as a sign posted on the front door slated a November 27th open-to-the-public date. Cookies were piled high, chefs roaming the premises, and the vats of chocolate were actively churning. Now East Villagers can satiate their chocolate cravings even faster and more often, without even having to walk all......

Every child (and Homer Simpson) dreams of a land where everything is chocolate as far as the eye can see. Spending a day at the 9th Annual Chocolate Show is damn close to that land of chocolatey goodness. As soon as we walked through the door, we were hit with the scent of chocolate wafting through the air. Breathing it in, we worked our way through the crowds to sample the wares of some......

-- A perfect treat for all of you who feel you aren't getting fat fast enough: Max Brenner is offering a chocolate pizza. -- 58% of the respondents in today's Crain's poll said Ray Nagin was right: "Rebuilding the World Trade Center site is taking too long." -- Worst summer vacation ever: first KT McFarland's daughter gets busted for shoplifting, and now she has to hang out with her mom straight through the primaries.......

The churning vats of chocolate, cocoa powders in a trifecta of shades, and towers of nougat can only be likened to the magical world of Willy Wonka. Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man opened at 5 p.m. yesterday to ecstatic crowds of sugar-hungry passerby, with friendly servers doling out free samples of caramelized pecans coated in nougat and cocoa powder, and tables in the cafeteria-sized dining room quickly filling up. The first American......