Max's mixed vegetable empanada
I don’t usually write restaurant reviews because there are other Baltimore food bloggers and magazine writers who are really good at it. But I found a new restaurant over the weekend that I really loved, so much that I had to write about it: Max’s Empanadas.
We had our first taste of these savory pockets at the 32nd Street Farmers Market, where Max’s Empanadas had a table set up by the entrance. Because Kenny had to go to a workshop at school and needed something to eat quickly, we bought a beef empanada and a mixed vegetable empanada, two for $5.
Kenny heated them up when we got home, and my friend Stel, who came over while the empanadas were in the oven, took a bite, talked about them for the rest of the day, and decided we had to go down to Little Italy to get more empanadas.
Yes, Max’s Empanadas , 313 S. High Street, is in Little Italy, just a few doors down from the valet parking madness that is Chiapparelli’s Restaurant. It’s a small storefront with, in the front, a long counter for ordering with a glass case underneath displaying all the empanadas and desserts, and, in the back, a few tables and barstools for those who want to eat in-house. Bottles of wine line the wall across from the counter, and six packs of beer fill a refrigerator (offered at a price much cheaper than sit-down restaurants, of course).
Max’s has only been open for five or six weeks, yet the place felt busy at 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday. At one point, nearly every seat in the back was taken.
Kenny and I ordered dinner specials: two empanadas (andouille sausage and pulled pork) with potato salad for him, and a spinach empanada with black bean hummus (a bit thin, but good) and vegetables for me. Max told us he tries to keep the baked empanadas healthy by using low-fat cheese and high-quality meats. All I know is that they are delicious and worth the time spent searching for a parking spot in Little Italy.
But here’s a really worthwhile tip I can offer you: before you leave Max’s, have the oatmeal bar with Craisins for dessert. Trust me. My friends were skeptical too, so much so that they wouldn’t even walk up to the counter and look at the dessert in the glass case. Big Ry even said, “You suck at desserts.” (I know, he was rough.)
Then he ate his words when the oatmeal bar arrived: warm and chewy, filled with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, covered with a layer of caramel. This is a dessert for sharing – you only need a few bites because it’s so sweet – but it’s so good.
Max’s Empanadas is located at 313 S. High Street in Little Italy.
