THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9612130921
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: ON THE TOWN IN PORTSMOUTH
TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: 79 lines
With its view of the Elizabeth River, the working waterfront and downtown Norfolk, The Max Restaurant on Water Street bears little resemblance to The Seawall, which opened in 1970.
Stephen DeLaCruz, The Max's owner, relocated to the present spot and gutted the interior of the old restaurant. A 250-seat dining room offers close-up views of tankers, sailboats and other watercraft passing a few hundred feet offshore. The room can be divided for parties, and additional meeting rooms accommodate another 100 persons.
Max general manager and former owner Charles Sears opened the Fat Rabbit on Mount Veron Avenue in 1967, then My Place, and later operated Scale o'de Whale for 15 years before selling it. He built the original Max in the old Seaboard Railroad Building, now No.1 High Street, then sold the restaurant to DeLaCruz. The Max has operated on Water Street for almost four years.
The Max family of Sears, owner DeLaCruz, and managers Kathy Lee and Wanda Cowan have worked together for years, he said. In additional to the restaurant, private party and catering business, ``The Max on Wheels,'' three pushcarts with about 20 items each - from breakfast items to blackened tuna Caesar salads, including pasta, burgers and subs - range out each weekday to downtown office buildings and other locations within walking distance.
Lunch at The Max offers soups (she-crab is $3.79 a cup; $4.99 a crock); and appetizers - an excellent fried calamari ($5.99), a plateful served with cocktail sauce - including deep-fried Cajun-battered shrimp bites ($5.99); a wheel of baked brie for two, with warm brandied apples and grilled bread ($6.99); lumpia, deep-fried Filipino egg rolls, sserved with sweet and sour sauce (eight for $4.99); and roasted red peppers for two, in a garlic marinade, with cream cheese and melba toast ($5.99). Many appetizers also are offered on the evening menu at slightly higher prices.
Sandwiches, served with corn chips and salsa, include a blackened tuna steak on a Kaiser roll ($5.99); Teriyaki Chicken Melt ($4.99, with mozzarella cheese); smoked turkey with Cheddar ($5.99); flounder fried in an almond batter ($6.49); and hot prime rib with fries (topped with a Burgundy mushroom sauce, $5.99). Again, many sandwiches repeat on the dinner menu.
The same for salads and entrees. Lunch-size portions are priced less than their evening counter parts. Salads include a goat cheese salad of radicchio and chicory in a shallot vinaigrette dressing, topped with bacon bits ($7.99 at dinner, 46.99 at lunch), a blackened shrimp and spinach salad with wedges of orange, mushrooms, walnuts and cheese, served with a hot bacon vinaigrette ($8.99 dinner, $6.99 lunch); and a seafood pasta salad of marinated scallops, blackened tuna, and shrimp with fresh garden vegetables and penne pasta ($7.99 dinner, $6.99).
The dinner menu offers a broiled seafood platter of flounder, shrimp, scallops, an oyster Rockefeller, clam casino and a crab cake, vegetables and hot rolls ($16.99), while grilled ``Chicago-style'' prime rib ($15.99), and a 14-ounce Black Angus New York Strip ($14.99) top out the meat entrees.
The Max also offers herb-crusted chicken breasts stuffed with andouille sausage and mozzarella cheese ($13.99 dinner, $6.99 lunch); shrimp and back-fin crabmeat au gratin ($15.99 dinner, $6.99 lunch); a combination of fried or broiled shrimp and scallops ($14.99 dinner $8.99 lunch); herb-crusted Norwegian salmon ($15.99 dinner, $8.99 lunch); and more.
The Max also offers many of the same menu items at ``Early Bird'' prices - less than on the dinner menu, but slightly higher than lunch - from 3 to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays.
As for the rest of our lunch, in addition to the calamari, we tried a special - sea trout broiled in an amandine sauce over white rice, served with vegetables, including oddly enough, more rice, stir-fried with bits of ham and vegetables ($6.99, with raisin pudding a dessert).
My ``Seafared'' consisted of shrimp, sea scallops and backfin crabmeat in a white wine and butter sauce with a hint of garlic ($8.99, or $15.99 at dinner).
The sea trout was done well, while my ``boat'' of seafood could have stood a bit more seafood at the price, and a few more seconds under the broiler. < ILLUSTRATION: Photos by Sam Martinette
The Max Restaurant, above, occupies the space on Water Street that
once was The Seawall restaurant. Diners have a view of tankers,
sailboats and other watercraft passing a few hundred feet offshore.
The Max moved from its original location on High Street four years
ago. Wanda Cowan, at left, has been a member of the management team
at both locations. by CNB