Restaurant Review: Max's
By Taryn Gifford
Always on a quest to bring
our readers valuable reviews, the Journalism II class set out
on a journey for December’s restaurant review. Destination:
Max’s restaurant at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto.
Max’s looked like a warm retreat from the chilly air that
whips through the outdoor Stanford mall, so we put in a reservation
for 6 o’clock to allow time to take a Santa picture and
do a bit of shopping.
Upon walking into the restaurant, our first observation was the
huge display of desserts and the live piano music coming from
the center of the dining area. Because we had a reservation, our
group headed to the front of the line where we were promptly seated
and handed menus. The menu itself included every dish you could
possibly want, from sandwiches and pastas (The saying for this
section of the menu is, “This is a bad place for a diet”)
to lower calorie entrees (The saying for this section is, “This
is a good place for a diet). Our waiter, though not overly friendly,
catered to our every need and we were swiftly brought our drinks
and warm sourdough and raisin rolls with butter.
After we placed out order, the food was a bit slow in coming,
probably because of the amount of patrons in the restaurant and
the fact that the line was out the door. Overlooking this detail,
when our food did arrive, it was well worth the wait. Erin Parker
ordered the Firecracker shrimp, which supposedly included 12 shrimp.
She reported upon receiving her meal that the portion, topped
by garlic-mashed potatoes to tame the spice, included many more
than just 12 shrimp. Alex Farrokhian and Robby Valderrama split
the 9-layer dip, which included beans, salsa, guacamole, cheese,
jalapenos, and other nacho-y ingredients. Although the dish did
not come with enough chips, when asked, the waiter brought more
chips with an (almost) half smile on his face. Finally, Alisa
Walsh and I both ordered the chicken sandwich with bacon and brie,
which was very filling and had a different (but good) taste due
to the brie.
When our meals were complete, we all shared joy in the moment
we had been waiting for: time to order dessert. Erin stated about
her dessert choice: “When I took a bite of my fudge brownie
I felt warm inside as I ate the hot dripping fudge.” Alisa
similarly ranted about her Niagra Falls chocolate cake, “I
had the sensation of chocolate waterfalls rushing over my taste
buds. It was exceptional!” And finally, Alex tried to put
the magic of the macaroon crumble that we shared into words, saying,
“Our dessert was unlike anything I have ever seen. There
were lightly buttered crumbles of macaroon cookies adorning a
mountainous heap of decadently rich vanilla ice cream, with pleasant
surprises of marshmallow cream and fudge.” Overall, Max’s
service was good and the atmosphere was definitely made by the
piano music and waiters who took time out from their jobs to sing
a few numbers. Max’s, although perhaps a bit pricey, is
a great date restaurant or a phenomenal dessert break from holiday
shopping.
