Max Mednik

I hope you're hungry (because just writing this is making me salivate).

No shame: I love chocolate, and for me, dessert is the main course. I feel like waiters are wasting their time asking, "Save room for dessert?" I always think, "Who wouldn't?"

Grouped by category, below are some of my most favorite chocolate desserts of all time.

Hot chocolate

1. Abuela. Somewhat spicy and exotic, this is like no other hot cocoa. I've had this one at home and in restaurants, and it's always nice. In terms of more traditional hot chocolates, I had some of the best at a takeout counter in Dublin, but Abuela can be found much more readily and is quite different than you'd expect. After all, if Mexican cuisine includes chocolate as a regular part of the main course preparation (like for mole), it's clear they know what they're talking about. I also like that "abuela" means "grandma;" it makes the brand feel warm and cozy.

Brownies

2. The Farm at Beverly Hills. Any restaurant whose domain name includes the word "brownies" is clearly serious about dessert. Try a brownie sundae here, and you'll know why. Life-affirming -- delicious. The Farm's brownies are dense and sprinkled with a light dusting of powdered sugar. "Moist, dark, and fudgy in the middle, they have a light crisp top crust and melt on your tongue" is what Los Angeles Magazine wrote in 2005 when naming them the "Best Brownies in Los Angeles."

3. Ghirardelli Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies. I blogged about this before. Make 'em at home, and you won't save any for tomorrow.

Cake

4. The Great Wall of Chocolate at PF Changs. Insanely large portion, and it keeps quite well in the fridge for almost a week. I also love the tangy raspberry sauce it comes with. For me, a cake must strike the perfect balance between spongy hardness and softness and include enough filling to make it just moist enough. This cake does just that. From the menu: "Six rich layers of frosted chocolate cake topped with semi-sweet chocolate chips, served with fresh berries and raspberry sauce."

Soufflé

5. Moustache Cafe. This place is unfortunately closed, but it served for many years as my favorite restaurant, simply because of its breathtaking soufflé. This dessert is so hard to cook to get "just right" (I tried learning how to do it in a college cooking class), and this restaurant was able to do it perfectly every time.

6. Grand Lux Cafe. This one is not a traditional French soufflé but a "chocolate molten cake." That dessert has grown in popularity quite a bit over the last 10 years (to my satisfaction), and Grand Lux Cafe is my favorite one of this variety. I love breaking the outer shell and seeing piping hot chocolate ooze out.

7. Mulholland Grill. The menu description of their "chocolate truffle" dessert almost suffices to describe the amazingness of this dessert: "hot, dark Godiva chocolate oozes out! Served over homemade vanilla gelato. Also available in hot, white Perugina chocolate."

An honorable mention in the soufflé category is CPK with its "chocolate soufflé cake." This one is neither the French traditional version nor the molten cake version but sort of a hybrid between those and a brownie; for a mainstream chain restaurant, though, it's pretty darn good.

Other

8. Chocolate churros at Red O. I came here for my anniversary, and the food exceeded my expectations. The "Just-Made Churros" dessert was excellent: "golden-crunchy outside, creamy within, served with warn chocolate-Kahlua dipping sauce." These churros are not like in the theme park; they are softer and so much more flavorful.

9. Chocolate macarons at Paulette. These are the best French-style macarons in the world. They were the party favors at our wedding, and each macaron is so flavorful that it captures your entire attention every time you take a bite.

10. Chocolate Disco Crêpe at Harajuku Crêpe. Don't be fooled by the size of this place; it is no match for the heart and creativity of its owner and cook that mans the crêpe machine all day and evening. Having done a social anthropological study of the culture of crêpes in college, I've been lucky enough to eat crêpes in many shapes and sizes all over the world, and they are definitely one of my favorite foods (it's so neat having an entire meal of savory plus sweet crêpes). What I love about Harajuku is that it takes an ancient French food and turns it upside down, imbibes it with Japanese flair, and makes it even more delicious.

I love chocolate. A lot.

I've been lucky to enjoy a few interactive experiences where I got to enjoy chocolate on a whole 'nother level. Here they are below; let me know what you recommend I do next!

1. Baking Ghirardelli Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies at home. OK, OK, so this is from a mix, but it's still heavenly good. Plus you feel a sense of accomplishment, and the food subjectively tastes "better" from the sweat you put into it.
   
   
2. Chocolate tasting at Compartes. This is a chocolatier in L.A. that does all homemade stuff; I got to do a tasting there as surprise birthday gift. It's fairly high end (and unfortunately pricey), but it did taste really good. I remember getting to taste some very odd-flavored truffles, like blood orange and pumpkin, which tasted quite interesting. This place is also known for their custom-made sculpted chocolates. I once ordered a chocolate cell phone for my dad as a birthday gift. (Un)fortunately, he couldn't take any calls on it, but it did taste good.
   
   
3. Chocolate and wine tasting at Waterford in South Africa. I wasn't really into the wine, but wineries are always beautiful and peaceful places to visit. The chocolate, though, was great, and I managed to trade some of my wine for some extra chocolate, which seemed like a win-win for all involved.
   
   
4. Self-guided chocolate tasting walking tour in Paris. I read an article (in LA Times Travel, I think) before my last trip to Paris about a journalist's trip to "research" chocolate in Paris. (I did some similar "research" on crêpes after my freshman year at Stanford.) I loved how the article ended with the author agonizing over which of 2 desserts to order from a restaurant menu; she decides to order both because life is short, and she's in Paris. (That's become somewhat of a guiding philosophy for me day-to-day.)
   
   So when I went to Paris, I decided to research and hit up some boulangeries and pâtisseries of my own. I can say it was a lot of fun, and I could easily fill a complete day's menu (calorie-wise at least) from dessert shops alone. There are even a couple companies like Chocolah that specialize in doing specifically these types of tours.
   
   
5. Cadbury factory tour in Dunedin, New Zealand. New Zealand is calm, quiet, and full of sheep, and Dunedin is no different. However, they do have something the other more bustling cities do not: Cadbury! I felt like I was walking into Willy Wonka's factory, and it was fun and tasty. Plus, every grocery store and gas station sells Cadbury at bargain-basement prices, so we definitely took some for the road.

This is my first blog post about food! Though it's somewhat off topic from my regular reading notes and entrepreneurship musings, it's something I care a lot about. Especially dessert (the most important part of a meal). [I did a research project about crêpes in Southern France during college!]

I'll keep this blog post short in contrast to the portion sizes at The Griddle Cafe. Saying that this place is ridiculous is an understatement. The portions are so enormous that I was doing bicep curls with the takeout boxes of leftovers that I couldn't finish.

This is the type of place where you go with a group of six and order just one dish and have more than enough food.

As a chocoholic, I ordered the Black Magic pancake. Its menu description is perfect: "Disbelief will possess you as you're pulled under the spell of our crushed Oreo-filled flapjacks! Topped with whipped cream and Oreo cookie pieces." The only part they leave out is that you get THREE enormous pancakes (like falling off the edges of the plate, probably 10" in diameter each, 1/2" thick each). It's Oreo and chocolate overload, and I could barely finish one pancake myself. For me, the sign of a good restaurant is the presence of chocolate pancakes on the menu. (I'm collecting places around me that have them as it's somewhat rare!)

The other pancake they're famous for is the Red Velvet, which was equally insane (it was literally Red Velvet cake in the form of a pancake).

With such delicious and huge portions, the pricing is quite reasonable. The place has an old-style counter feeling, and it gets really busy, so you have to find the right time (like between meals or at the start of meals) to avoid the rush.

I can't wait to go back again (and have leftover breakfast to eat for a week thereafter).