Did You Know The Palmer House Hilton in Chicago Invented The Brownie?

Chicago's Palmer House Hilton has some serious bragging rights when it comes to dessert. The hotel invented the brownie. According the Palmer House, socialite and owner Bertha Palmer asked the hotel chefs to create a sweet for the Women's Pavilion at the the World�s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and they came up with the all-magnificent brownie.

We headed to the Palmer House to see if the first brownie house served up a killer dose of chocolatey goodness after 116 years. The newest brownie incarnation in the hotel restaurant, Lockwood, is different from the original treat, which supposedly had an apricot glaze and nuts. Our version, our waiter told us, is only the base of Bertha's original brownie.

Instead the updated brownie was plain and served with a smear of chocolate ice cream and a tall shot glass of chocolate mousse. We must admit, we were thoroughly disappointed when we took a bite into the brownie. It wasn't particularly chocolatey and it was neither fudgey or cakey, but somewhere in between.

But when we dipped a spoonful in the ice cream, the brownie got a bit richer and tastier. Layering the flavors worked and gave the blah brownie some oomph. We were left wondering if an apricot glaze and nuts could transform the brownie into a sinfully good dessert. Surprisingly, the best item on the dish was the silky, light mousse made with Valrhona chocolate and topped with a half of a strawberry. We tried to scrape every last bit of the yummy mousse from the glass with our miniature spoon.

The brownie isn't a standout by any means, but Lockwood seems to be keeping the chocolate legacy alive with its mousse. We just wish there would have been more of that and less of the brownie on the plate.

[Photo: Jennifer Kester]

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