The brownie made its debut at the Palmer House when Bertha Palmer, wife of the hotel’s millionaire owner, ordered up a new dessert to serve at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. It’s an oddly aristocratic origin for so democratic a dessert, cherished and consumed by children, chocoholics and stoners alike. And fittingly, the Palmer House version—using the original recipe of semi-sweet chocolate, apricot glaze and crushed walnuts—ranks among the city’s finest. (Robert Rodi) Palmer House, 17 E. Monroe
