Winter Selections at Max’s Wine Dive

January 12, 2012

Max’s Wine Dive recently invited us to a tasting and we excitedly accepted. Max’s has a minimalist décor with an open kitchen; the seating is a combo of high tops and booths, which create multilevel acoustics, creating privacy in an open room.  In the background they offer up rock ‘n’ roll tunes to set the mood.  We had only eaten brunch at Max’s and were already in love with it.  We chatted with Chef Mike Pellegrino as we sipped on Prosecco and talked about restaurant life and food.  Mike is from Detroit but has lived all over Texas. He’s is a very friendly, likeable man who has a serious passion for food. He told us stories of food and places that have inspired him and the origins of his creativity.

Then they started the onslaught of beautifully plated food. First up: Mussels, Clams and Champagne. Mediterranean mussels and Manila clams floated in a champagne-butter bath with stacked garlic toast.  The dish was paired with a crisp Italian white wine from the Piedmont region of the Italian north.  Before we could finish, the table was filled with food. The next plate was a Venison Tamale.  The spicy venison was fall-apart tender, and nestled into a creamy corn filling, all covered with a sweet candied kumquat pico and dressed with chili oil and cauliflower Brie puree.  We were pleasantly surprised by the sweet/spicy/savory combination that the candied kumquat developed.  Our wonderful server LaRue then supplied us with a dry red — also from the Piedmont region of northern Italy. This proved to be a perfect complement to the appetizers that followed.

Venison Tamale

The St. Arnold’s Amber Ale Fondue had the sharp bite of Gouda, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Gruyère. The dipping bread was pretzel-inspired and was perfect for the fondue. This was all great but the highlight of the night came next, and may be one of the most creative and interesting dishes I have ever had. It was the Bone Marrow Pâté that was dipped in pistachio-bacon brittle. What? You read that right … and it was served with a well-seasoned homemade flatbread which served as the transportation for the meat candy to my taste buds.

Marrow Pate Brittle

Chef Mike said he was chatting with a chef buddy about new ideas and Mike told him he was “taking bone marrow and mixing it with pâté then dipping it in a pistachio-bacon brittle.” The other chef asked, “Really?” Mike replied, “No, but I am now!”  I thought this was awesome! The dish was decadent, and we cleaned that bone right out.

Pot Pie of the Month

Now up to this point, we had not even started the entrees.  LaRue served us each a glass of beautiful dry red Meritage from Napa Valley that paired well with the Pot Pie of the Month that was topped with a buttery puff pastry.  Two more entrees were served to finish off the tasting: two classic Max’s dishes. The Cracklin’ Chicken is definitely cracklin’, and if the skin of this bird could be mass-produced, it would be the next big snack item in America–and then the world.

Cracklin Chicken

The juicy half-chicken is served with wild mushroom risotto and topped with truffle oil that adds earthiness to the dish. The last plate we tasted (the manager Josh calls it their secret weapon) was the Beef Cheek Pot Roast that is topped with a dark cherry sauce served with root vegetables. And Josh isn’t kidding—this is a deadly weapon. The tasting was a wonderful experience and we can’t wait for our next meal at Max’s.

Beef Cheek Pot Roast

Disclosure: All food was complimentary for this event, but the opinions expressed were solely those of the writer.

 -by Josh