Not to be left out from the crowd, the Taste Buds hopped on
the bandwagon and headed over to the West Village to check out the one of
Dallas’ newest foodie hot spots. Only open for a short amount of time and yet
crowded with people wanting to see what exactly a wine dive has to offer, Max’s
Wine Dive was a bustling brunch destination. We were greeted by one of the
nicest, most gentlemanly waiters we’ve had who made the experience that much
more fun for us. We ordered our must-have mimosas and he actually suggested
that we should take advantage of the discounted champagne during brunch hours
and get the bottle – fresh squeezed orange juice was on him! Of course, we took
his advice.
We perused the menu trying to decide what sounded best out
of all the deliciously sounding entrees and were trying to narrow down between
a couple of options. Haley was between the fried chicken and the flapjacks
& wings. I noticed our neighbor had the flapjacks & wings so I politely
asked him what he thought of his meal. He candidly told us that the wings were
good but that the flapjacks were NOT. He even heard a couple a few tables over
ask for a refund for the flapjacks. Apparently they had a strange flavor as if
they were being cooked on a griddle that is also used for other food items. Grateful
for the tip, Haley opted for the fried chicken. Haley’s “MAX’s Famous Southern
Fried Chicken” had a jalapeño-buttermilk batter and was served with mashed
potatoes, collard greens and Texas toast. She said the flavor was really good
on the fried chicken, but the breading wasn’t super crispy like she likes. The
chicken was super juicy though which was a nice surprise. The sides were good
too, especially the mashed potatoes.
I settled on the “Crab Apple” Omelet with Texas blue crab,
apple and arugula with jalapeño cheddar grits. My waiter suggested I have some
habanero salsa to go with it. I also ordered a side of bacon – just for grins.
My omelet was really moist and fluffy – one of the best executed omelets I’ve
had. The salsa was very spicy, but did pair nicely. The jalapeño cheddar grits were
seriously the creamiest grits I’ve ever had and had great flavor - I basically
inhaled them. The bacon was normal, BUT our waiter let us in on a little
secret. In about a month, once the kitchen gets its sea legs, Max’s Wine Dive
will start making their own bacon in-house!! So excited for that.
As we were eating our brunch and sipping our mimosas, we
couldn’t help but overhear a couple of more people complaining to their waiters
about the bad flapjacks. We heard they had a weird spicy/savory flavor on them.
Hopefully, Max’s has worked out the flapjack kinks since then. We would hate
for something so simple to be such a hang up for them. All in all, we enjoyed
our experience. It was fun to check out the new thing in Dallas and would happily
go back for a few glasses of wine or a fun meal. With locations already in
Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, we are sure Max’s will be a great addition to
Big D.
