Max's Wine Dive: First Taste
Max's Wine Dive:
Everything, as they say, is bigger in Texas. And that includes their appetite for hockey puck-sized fried green tomatoes and platters of fried chicken. Max's Wine Dive is a Houston transplant that recently opened in Wicker Park, banking on its devil-may-care "fried chicken and Champagne because why the hell not" ethos as a magnet for local barhoppers and foodies alike. That's a pretty tall order, considering the spate of high-quality restaurants to sprout up in the neighborhood of late, not to mention fried chicken's omnipresence throughout the city. Does the food live up to the portion sizes? I ate my way through some hefty plates to find out.
(Fried green tomatoes and fried chicken at Max's Wine Dive)
The Backstory
Max's Wine Dive is a Houston-based comfort food haven with several locations in Texas. When Covo Gyro Market closed up shop on Milwaukee Avenue, the chainlet swept in quickly, scooping up the valuable real estate to bring their comfort food template up north. Chicagoans definitely love comfort food, as much as any Texan even, but especially considering the surge in fried chicken restaurants around town the past few years, it seems a risky gamble for Max's to open now. However, the restaurant's motto — "Fried chicken and Champagne... Why the hell not?" — is sure to attract some casual diners looking for something fun and low-key. Even if the restaurant peddles in sit-down service, necessitating a lengthier stay than is probably ideal. But that's what the Champagne is for.
The Food
True to form, the menu at Max's Wine Dive is entirely devoted to Southern-style comfort food. The crux of their menu is the fried chicken, the clear signature. The jalapeno-buttermilk marinated chicken comes with mashed potatoes, collard greens, and Texas toast, an excessive portion to be sure. In spite of all that gluttony, the fried chicken is actually legit and tasty, albeit muted in terms of jalapeno, which may as well not factor at all. The birds are tender, none-too-greasy, and moist, with a delicate crackly patina that clings to the meat ever so snug. There's ample pieces of meat here too, which makes this platter an ideal share plate so you don't need to order one per person. Unless you're just coming off Survivor and you're ravenous. The rest of the menu is riddled with crazy gut bombs. Like the much-too-dense fried green tomatoes, overly thick slices of bland tomatoes ensconced in a tough cornmeal coating. The sweet corn succotash on the plate did better. The fries are just fine, as long as you're comfortable unbuckling your belt for the caramelized onion bordelaise. There's also fried Brie, which seems disrespectful to France at large, jalapeno-cornbread casserole (quite tasty, actually, and I would welcome it on my Thanksgiving table), and an exceedingly rich fried egg sandwich heaped with three fried egg, Gruyere, and black truffle aioli. I'd recommend removing at least one of those ingredients and at least one egg. Across the board, food at Max's Wine Dive is dangerously rich and intense, an especially risky endeavor considering how random certain things taste.
The Service and The Booze
The other focal point at Max's Wine Dive is the wine, of which there is plenty of and at reasonable prices. There's also a small wine store-type setup at the front of the restaurant, which is a nice touch. Servers are honest and helpful in making drink suggestions, although their excitement for life is a bit much. My waitress was acting like she was on ecstasy at Disney World the entire time. It was nice at first, but quickly wore off when she would bombard my personal space with energetic suggestions and questions. Your best bet is to hone in on bubbly by the glass; refreshing, quenching, and relatively affordable depending on what you order and what you get to eat with it.
Is Max's Wine Dive an essential addition to Chicago's dining scene? Not really, especially considering the impressive gamut of fried chicken-centric eateries around town lately. It's a fine, sufficient option for Wicker Park's bustling Milwaukee Ave. strip however, as a comfort food restaurant that neatly fits into the middle ground between full-fledged dining experience and low-key night out.
- Matt Kirouac