Chocolate is basically perfect in any form: frozen, hot, bitter, sweet, mixed with booze—you name it. And at Blue Stripes, a new spot from Oded Brenner, one of the cofounders of legendary chocolate restaurant Max Brenner (he’s parted ways with the other founder, Max Fichtman), the cacao plant’s magnificence is on full display. We highly recommend sampling everything on the madcap menu, but to get started, here are five of the most unique—and delicious—treats you have to try.
The Chocolate Shop of Our Dreams Just Opened in Greenwich Village
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Published Jul 26, 2018
Courtesy of Blue Stripes
When You Can’t Decide: Get The Cake And Shake
It’s no surprise that the chocolate milkshake here is probably the best in all of New York (yeah, we went there). But Blue Stripe’s version is so much more than just blended ice cream and milk. Brenner tops his shake with an entire piece of cake, which rests adorably on a house-made chocolate cookie (which is baked with a hole for the straw!). Cake flavors include everything from a decadent Black Forest to a gooey banoffee.
Courtesy of Blue Stripes
When You’re Trying To Be Healthy: Get The Cacao Fruit Energy Bowl
Not everything on the menu here qualifies as dessert. Think of this as a souped-up version of an acai bowl: The cacao fruit is known to aid in everything from heart health to improving brain function. (Also, it tastes like a tropical rainbow.) Topped with fresh fruit and homemade granola, it’s a perfectly balanced breakfast that also happens to be very Instagrammable.
courtesy of Blue Stripes
When You Just Need Some Chocolate, Like, Now: Get The Chocolate Shot
True chocoholics should make a beeline for this petite beverage, which is literally just melted milk chocolate. Brenner worked on the menu for his store for five years, so this drink is certainly not just melted Hershey’s, but some of the finest chocolate the chocolatier could source.
Courtesy of Blue Stripes
When You’re In A Willy Wonka Mood: Get The Chocolate Cloud
What’s better than chocolate mousse? Drinkable chocolate mousse. Brenner’s wackiest creation is also his most unique. Chocolate clouds are essentially just that: impossibly light and fluffy whipped chocolate that’s dispensed from what looks like a beer tap (although here it’s known as a cloud machine). We recommend the Nutella Foam flavor, because… do you really need a reason?
Courtesy of Blue Stripes
When You Can’t Decide Between Savory And Sweet: Get The Chocolate Pizza
One of the most famous dishes at Max Brenner is the chocolate pizza, a sweet take on the savory dish. Here, it’s been reinvented with a mix of white and dark chocolates, plus mini marshmallows, all of which gets nicely toasted and melty after a spin in the oven. It’s big enough to share, but you may not want to.
28 E. 13th St.; bluestripes.com