Little joint can barely contain its genius

The amuse bouche, that teasing starter upscale restaurants serve their guests, looked like puréed lentil soup with a crouton. But the crouton was actually a delectable cube of crisp pork, and the soup’s flavor was phenomenal. And it only got better from there.

I’m raving about Max’s, a small restaurant with big ideas. With only 10 tables and a quirky Railyard location behind the popular Corazón bar, it would be easy to assume that Max’s is another hole-in-the-wall joint. Don’t let be fooled. This is one of Santa Fe’s best restaurants.

When I ate at Max’s for the first time, back in the spring of 2009, the concept was Latin flavors and small plates. Now, the restaurant’s subtitle is “Inspired American Cuisine” and the options include fresh oysters and rabbit pot pie. The menu is short but intense, and includes some examples of sous vide cooking, a method that involves sealing the food in vacuum bags and immersing it in a hot water bath to preserve as much of the natural flavor as possible.

My friend and I enjoyed the look of the restaurant with its golden walls and big, abstract paintings. Early-evening light and soft recorded music added warmth to the ambience. Service was first-rate and the owner, Max herself, greeted customers and checked on their satisfaction.

Our waiter’s enthusiasm for Two-Hour Egg with Polenta Two Ways ($15) inspired me to order it. I’m usually not crazy about polenta, but this dish is wonderful. The only thing it needs is a PR makeover to add poetic magic to its mundane sounding name. Creamy polenta formed the base, with a cube of crisp polenta in each of the four corners. On top came a wild mushroom ragu, then the amazing egg. The egg had been cooked in the sous vide process to about the doneness of a soft-boiled egg. The cooking concentrated the flavor. The rich egg yolk tasted great with the slightly salty polenta. The magician’s final touch was mushroom foam, a cloud of flavor that was like the spirit of a mushroom without the physicality. This is a choice I’d put on the short list of Food for a Last Meal.

My friend and I also enjoyed the foie gras ($15), a treat I tend to avoid because it can be too heavy. This version, presented as a cylinder of duck liver atop a crisp bread platform, was just right. It was gorgeous, too, finished with a bit of blood orange jell and a serving of celery-heart salad. The evening’s special appetizers were fresh morel mushrooms stuffed with foie gras or two kinds of fresh oysters from Washington state.

Entrées were equally yummy. The flank steak, cooked sous vide, was a perfect medium rare and amazingly tender. The beautiful slices were served over a spinach and blue cheese and mushroom crepe. The red wine shallot puree added a nice dash of color and complemented the beef ($33).

The suckling pig tasting plate ($28) was some of most delicious pork I’ve ever had outside of a Hawaiian luau. The kitchen even solved the problem of presentation, wrapping the braised and shredded pork shoulder meat in a chard leaf to resemble a green ball. The pork loin and crispy pork confit each had slightly different seasonings and texture. Vegetables, carrots and soft mild Cipolinni onions, were so good I wanted more.

For dessert we shared the tapioca coconut pudding ($10) that was most interesting for its presentation of tropical fruit including soft pink litchis, fresh golden pineapple and passion fruit foam. Other desserts include a Bittersweet Chocolate Globe.

Along with our check we each received another treat, a white chocolate globe on a spoon with a garnish of deep green lime zest. Our waiter advised us to put the entire globe in our mouths and then bite down. Inside was a sweet/tart passion fruit splash. Amazing!

Max’s serves some of Santa Fe’s most creative food, and I highly recommend it. A final word of advice: Make a reservation, especially if you want to eat here on the weekend. Word is out.

Our dinner for two was $106.75 before tax and tip.

Photo Credit – morgan petroski/journal
Cutline – The tiny Max’s is one of Santa Fe’s best restaurants.