Max Brenner   

If any new addictive import is going to spread through our pop, health and social culture, it might as well be chocolate. The namesake of this Willy Wonka wonderland is an Israeli sweet man who has left his trail of sugar and cocoa in cult confection shops in Israel, Australia and Asia. This is his second American location, the first being in Union Square, and by the elaborate looks of it, he'll rival Jacques Torres. The brown-and-caramel-colored wooden space is chock full o' nuts, beans, vats, scales, mixers. On one hand, it's a store: take in the aroma and order something gift-wrapped to go from the exceptionally long menu -- a box of dark chicao with Ecuadorian cocoa bits or whipped chocolate cream truffles spiced with cognac. On the other, it's an indoor restaurant with an outdoor European cafe feel -- lunch on the sweet potato crepe, the chili-rubbed chicken breast salad, or a lasagna Bolognese. Don't miss the 12-page drink list: choctails, granitas, and an espresso-like shot of suckao that keeps you up at night dreaming of the golden ticket.