Max's Oyster Bar

West Hartford Restaurant Week ended in two days and I still had two restaurants I wanted to visit before then. Running out of time I made my way to Max’s Oyster Bar Saturday afternoon all by myself. I planned on sampling their happy hour offerings, as well as one of their Restaurant Week specials, just like I had done successfully with friends at Harvest Wine Bar and with much less success by myself at Bricco. 

Welcoming Bar

I got there shortly after 4 and found one open spot at the bar.  They were busier than Harvest and only slightly busier than Briccos, when I had visited. But unlike Briccos, with their one bartender that didn’t seem that busy or attentive, despite the number of bodies sitting around their bar, Max’s had 3 bartenders all very much tending to the needs of their customers. To be fair to Briccos, I was in there on a Tuesday evening and it was Saturday at Max’s. So maybe the number of patrons at Briccos caught them by surprise and they were short handed as a result. I just can’t picture any of the three bartenders I watched at Max’s ignore a patron for 20 minutes, but I guess it’s possible. 

Drink Selection

Anyways, Max’s was busy, the bartenders were great, and I had a menu within a minute of sitting down and a drink within two. Max has a great selection of happy hour appetizers at very good prices. Considering it is a fairly upscale restaurant, having 15 items for $5 to choose from, not even counting the raw bar selection is fantastic. Some local Torrington restaurants could learn a thing or two about happy hour from Max’s. One critique, they aren’t quite as diverse with drinks as they are with happy hour foods. They offer only two beers for happy hour prices an IPA and a Pale Ale, 4 wines, and 5 mixed drinks, although the Blue Hawaiian was tasty enough to make up for the lack of good beers (did I mention I hate IPA’s).

Great Appetizers

I was thinking I could make a meal of the happy hour dishes and after dinner I even more seriously thought so. I started off with grilled shrimp tacos and blackened fish tacos.  The blackened fish tacos were delicious, with a nice kick to them. The fish was moist, with the accompanying lime wedge adding tartness to the heat of the blackened fish and the sweetness of the mango relish. The grilled shrimp taco was flavorful and the corn salsa enhanced the flavor. The shrimp itself was a little dry, which seemed to be a recurring theme. But despite the dryness of the shrimp the taste won me over. I then asked the bartender which she would recommend, the shrimp and grits or the crab and corn fritters. Without hesitation she said the shrimp and grits. Wow a bartender/waiter that gives an honest recommendation and not the obligatory “oh they are all great” answer. Her quick response convinced me and I ordered them. Without even trying the crab and corn fritters I knew she had lead me to the right dish. This was the best thing I had all night. The spices on the shrimp and grits, which had little bits of andouille sausage and a lobster glaze was so fantastic that the fact that these shrimp were also dry hardly seems worth mentioning here. Hell if they were made of cardboard and tasted that good I wouldn’t have complained. I did tell her that it was almost a crime to have them as a happy hour appetizer, because there was no bread to soak up the sauce that escaped around the shrimp and grits. She had done so well with that choice I told her to pick one more appetizer for me. She went with the Philly steak and cheese. This was a little variation on the City of Brotherly Love’s version and seemed to fit its personality more if not its nickname. The sandwich was hotter and spicier as hot peppers replaced the mild peppers normally found on its namesake. A nice switch that I appreciated. In hindsight I wish I had stayed at the bar and had a few more appetizers instead of the restaurant week price fixed meal. To be honest I have not had much success with most of these, and I am beginning to think that I have the wrong idea about them. You see I thought it was a way for all these restaurants to capture new customers by showing off their great food at a bargain price. But I am beginning to think it is a way to make a quick profit off their names by offering lesser fair. At least most meals I have had seem that way.

Dining Room Meal

Anyway I left the bar, the Blue Hawaiians, the bartender with great taste in appetizers and went to the main restaurant for my meal. There I had a cup of lobster bisque, which was creamy and had a hint of lobster taste, although you couldn’t find a morsel of the meat anywhere in the bisque. It was a decent bisque, but the lobster part might be taking some literary license. The main course was seafood gumbo, which had pieces of monkfish, shrimp, andoiulle sausage and fried oysters over rice. Now this should have been from the same flavor field as the great shrimp and grits, with spices that leave you salivating for more. But this was kind of bland. In this case the shrimp was moist and not the least bit dry and I found myself longing for the dry ones from the grits, that had all that flavor. The fried oysters were ok, the monkfish was probably the best seafood on the plate, and I was beginning to question my memories of being a gumbo fan in the past. This wasn’t bad, it was just kind of dull. The dessert was a vanilla bean Creme Brulee. I am not sure there is such a thing as a bad creme brulee and this wasn’t going to make me change my mind. It wasn’t one that would make me stop, close my eyes and hug myself, jump into the air and float back down, like Snuffles in the old Quick Draw cartoons (hows that for an old reference that anyone that isn’t older than dirt won’t know what I am talking about), and like some Brulees have been known to make me do.

Conclusion

Overall I think Max’s Oyster Bar is a good restaurant. I am not sure that the West Hartford Restaurant Week is a good judge of any of these places, because the appetizers were too good, to not think that most of the main courses should be too. I will definitely be back, although you may not be able to pry me out of the bar if its happy hour.