Israel may be the “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17 and others), but its chocolate has garnered international attention.  USA Today magazine published its annual list of America’s top milkshakes, and Israeli chocolatier Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar was named in the list of places to get a great one.

Max Brenner, named for founders Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner, started in Raanana, Israel as a boutique chocolate shop and quickly grew into a chain of Chocolate Bars.  Now owned by the Strauss Group, franchises operate across Israel, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines and the US.   American locations include New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Las Vegas.  A fifth US location is expected to open in Bethesda, Maryland, this weekend.

USA Today specifically focused on the chain’s New York location, citing its eleven milkshake flavors.  “A restaurant that bases itself in chocolate is bound to have great milkshakes,” the magazine noted.  It particularly recommended the Pure Chocolate Granita, “a shake of milk chocolate ganache blended with ice.”  The restaurant ranked eighth of fifteen on the list.

“Getting ‘Chocolate by the Bald Man’” may be “a New York experience,” according to USA Today, but it is one with Israeli roots.