Usually I tend to avoid the East Village for restaurants with Momofuku being one exception and Max being the other. Max is a very homey and down to earth Italian restaurant on Avenue B. The East Village outpost is the original Max location and since its 11 years in business it has sprout up in Tribeca and the Upper West Side. Owner Luigi Iasilli from the Basilicata region in southern Italy serves traditional Italian food with an influence from southern Italy in this rustic small Italian restaurant. Max’s main objective isn’t to wow you with its decor but to make you feel almost like you’re at home and give you generous, and very inexpensive, portions of pastas, meat and fish dishes from southern Italy. The restaurant features an open kitchen in the front and the dark wood bar area in the back. In the warm weather Max opens up its garden and patio which are also nice during the summer months (not so much in this cold month of December).
Those who come to Max are in search of hearty, good Italian food and that is what they will get. The most expensive dish on the menu is $14.95 and the portion sizes are enough to feed two people. The first dish I was served was the Melanzane a funghetti which is a dish from Naples. Max takes pride in using all organic tomatoes in its sauces which produces a much sweeter tomato sauce. The sweetness is definitely noted not only in this dish but in all dishes in which the tomato sauce is used. This was paired with buffalo mozzarella and both complemented each other well. The sweetness of the sauce and the creaminess of the mozzarella worked perfectly. The next dish was my favorite dish I had at Max hands down. It was the Porcini Ravioli with Black Truffle Cream Sauce. What surprised me the most was that Luigi had informed me that this dish was only $15. This means that anyone in New York (or anyone who goes to Max for that matter) could sample black truffles for only $15! That is definitely a rare opportunity that you will not get outside of Max (truffle dishes often start at $50 and go upwards from there. Nello charges an upwards of $125 for his dishes that contain black truffle). Not only is this dish very inexpensive but it is very good as well. Black truffle dishes can often have either too much truffle (resulting in an unbearably heavy dish) or too little truffle (resulting in an unsatisfied customer) but Max fused black truffles into a cream sauce which balanced out very nicely and wasn’t too heavy and had enough truffles to satisfy…well me at least. The ravioli were also cooked al dente (just undercooked) which is always a plus in my book! After was Max’s Lasagna. This large lasagna can most certainly feed two people and possibly a third. In my family (who is from Sicily) lasagna is prepared with lasagna pastsa, a meat sauce, peas and eggs. Max removed the peas and eggs from the dish possibly to please the American palate and I am happy with the removal (I’m not exactly a fan of peas nor eggs). This lasagna was rich and very light and a great option when visiting Max (especially if you’re looking to share an entree)!
The next two dished served were the Fettuccine with a Meat Sauce and the Spaghetti with Lamb Ragu finished with peccorino. Max utilizes their organic tomato sauce in both dished and it is good in both the fettuccine and spaghetti though it did become a bit too sweet as I continued to eat the spaghetti which was served after the fettuccine (then again you’re not supposed to order two back to back pasta dished). Then came the Baccala (fried salted cod) sprinkled with truffle oil with a side of mashed potatoes and a salad. The use of truffle oil on baccala was something I certainly haven’t seen before but it was a successful combination. The lightness of the cod was able to absorb the flavors of the truffle oil so that the truffle oil didn’t overpower the fried cod. The mashed potatoes were also a good side and the salad was well…a salad, nothing to write home about. For dessert I was served a Tiramisu but the presentation was very unconventional. This tiramisu was served in a cup so that all the ingredients blend together. It was interesting and definitely more creamy than your normal tiramisu. Though I can’t say whether it is better than the traditional cake form but its certainly something to try if you’re at Max.
Overall Max was a pleasant experience. Though, for me, its a bit out of the way the food is good and the portions are very generous and the prices are super low. For those on a tight budget Max is the perfect option! Personally I’d go to Max any day for the Porcini Ravioli with Black Truffle Cream Sauce!
oasisormirage 