MAX’s Wine Dive

They’re closing April 24.
That’s a damn shame because Max’s Wine Dive is great.
I’d review it further, but there’s really no point.
If you go, be aware they’ve slashed their wine prices down to insane levels to help liquidate* their inventory.
* Pun intended.

I’ve been here twice — once for dinner and once for brunch with a GILT city deal. Both were good experiences. Both times I got the fried chicken. (They also have a gluten free fried chicken available which surprised me). The fried chicken is delicious — crispy, without too much breading and very moist. The jalapeño in the batter gives it nice balanced flavor. It was a heaping portion that I just couldn’t get through it, but it made good leftovers. It came with collard greens which were okay but I preferred the breakfast potatoes.
The atmosphere is okay — it does have more of a «chain» vibe that seems a bit out of place for the neighborhood. Service was good both times. Our waitress was knowledgeable about wine and the cocktails. Their wine list is pretty big. Their bloody mary for brunch had a nice kick to it (and comes with a fried chicken wing).
Note: Sadly, Max’s Wine Dive is set to close by the end of the month. Kudos to the staff for still bringing their A-​game.

I just realized I’ve never reviewed MAX’s! Anywhoo, I’ve been a few times and decided I really really like it! It’s just a really fun atmosphere, laid back, but still really good food and wine.
We came on a Thursday and they had $ 5 sparkling wine, yum! Sign me up! (You know the next day I regretted this decision, but at the time it was great, haha) We had the fried brie, really good; The friend chicken sliders, sooo sooo sooo good. I have been thinking about how I might pop in for take out of these sliders in the near future; the stuffed peppers, I also really enjoyed these; the gnocchi, yum! and the pork shoulder, also really good.
You should definitely stop into this place, it is a great neighborhood spot. Totally approachable, but with great food and wine. Love this spot!

Since when were brussel sprouts considered ‘cool’?
I don’t know, but my spare rib breakfast hash came loaded with the nasty bastards. Smelly, bitter, and not at all tender, so what in pluperfect hell were they doing in my skillet dish? GET ‘EM OUTTA THERE! Fo realz, yo. Apart from those green spheres of grossness, the rest of it was delicious. Two eggs sunny side covered a bed of wonderful spare rib meat, which sat atop crispy breakfast potatoes. $ 15 was a little steep for my liking, but I ate the dish with fervor.
My brunch companion ordered the Scooby Doo, which were chocolate chip pancakes with a dollop of marshmallow fluff and sprinkled with graham crackers. She proclaimed it delicious (but how could it not be?) and it was something like $ 11.
The mimosa bar was very cool indeed: $ 5 got you a glass of champagne + grapefruit juice (as opposed to the normal orange juice) and a candy buffet to accompany it. They had gummy bears, Peach-O’s, Twizzlers (bite off the end and use it as a straw!), candied watermelon pieces and a few others to add to your mimosa.
Our server, Claire, was genuine and attentive. They featured some very spiffy wall art and had a ‘retro’ brunch going, with cartoons showing on their TV’s and they had out toys like Connect4 and Hungry Hungry Hippos. I was a huge fan of this, since I grew up with these un-​board games, and I totally kicked Caty D’s ass at a highly competitive game of Don’t Break The Ice (needless to say, she broke the ice).
Saturday brunch for two (1 drink, 2 entrees) totaled $ 35 + tip, which was way more than I was planning on spending, but we both enjoyed the experience. The brussel sprouts almost ruined my dish, though. Almost.

Avoid the bar at Umami burger next door (however available and cool it may make you look, their cocktails taste like cough syrup) and go to Max’s for drinks or post-​brunch drinking. $ 5.25 mimosas, enough said.
Also, you might want to sit at least three tables away from ultra loud Sex-​in-​the-​City style girlfriend hangouts. Many classic awkward dates to witness on weekends. ⁵⁄₅

My girlfriend and I are literally eating as I write this because it is simply the best, most juicy fried chicken we have ever had. We got the fried chicken brunch with cheese grits instead of home fries, and everything is amazing. Firm, tasty greens, wonderful flavor in these grits… they even have great coffee. And Chelsea is sweet, attentive server.
We’ll be back next week.

The Bloody Mary was great — they put a piece of Friend Chicken in it, which I’m not a fan of (friend chicken, that is) — so I gave that to my partner. He pretty much got an appetizers worth because I had 3 Bloody Mary’s.
I had a Braised Pork Benedict — it was ok. The sauce on top was probably the best part. I don’t know if it’s because I was all egged out that I didn’t really enjoy it — so I’d give them another chance, and probably order something else next time. I’m also a pretty harsh critic.
Our waitress was really nice and pretty funny, so it made the experience enjoyable.

Lawd Haffa Mercy! Yearsssss ago, one of my Instagram friends took a picture of some fried chicken and tagged that they were eating at Max’s Wine Dive… I had never heard of the place and upon conducting some further research, I found out that they were in Texas. Years later, to my surprise and excitement, the franchise has decided to open locations outside of Texas and so far have landed in Atlanta and now Chicago! Seeing that I recently vacationed in Chicago, I could not pass the opportunity up to see what all the hype is about and let me tell you… I now understand!
The service was on point, my waiter was attentive and spoke about the menu with ease without a need to verify anything with the chef which is impressive for a new restaurant opening.
This place was decorated so that you could lay back and let your hair down with keeping it classy. It’s warm and had an artificial fireplace. The bar is large and long and there are options of sitting high or low. The store has large window fronts so you can people watch and the kitchen is somewhat open!
The food…
The Fried Chicken with Mash Potatoes and Greens — the chicken was fried perfectly… There is a hint of jalapeño pepper embedded into the batter which gives it a nice kick in every bite, the chicken comes out hot from the fryer and the pieces are nice in size. The skin is crispy and is not bogged down in grease! The mash potatoes were a little lack luster and could use additional butter and salt but are whipped well. The greens were pretty good (was my first time having them), they were a great pair with the chicken!
The Egg Sandwich with chips — ooooooooooook, I got this JUST BECAUSE and this actually blew me out the water (seriously)! Every aspect of that sandwich was seasoned, the eggs had salt and black pepper, the tomato was heated, the truffle aioli gave the sandwich a taste of heavenly bliss and nice texture, the bread was crispy and the bacon was crispier — I don’t recall all the elements but the sandwich was good folks! My only drawback was that it was on the greasy side but sh*t that didn’t matter, also the sandwich is HUGH! The chips were house made and were truffle and fresh out the fryer and added some additional crisps that you were already getting from the sandwich… It was a nice pairing… Overall a simple sandwich taken to another level by the right ratio of seasoning!
They only serve wine and champagne which is a bummer for me, I needed my soda for a meal of this standard + I’m not big on wine or champagne so I just ordered champagne to have some type of buzz but it just didn’t do it for me… Max please get bottles of soda for people like me!
What I love about this restaurant is that it’s not about the fancy spancy, it’s about taking well known southern comfort foods and placing the right seasonings with the correct execution as opposed to getting outside the box and creating a disaster (which so many places seem to be doing today).
Overall a TASTY experience and I cannot wait to return here again… Is it the best damn chicken I ever ate? No… Is it tasty and one of my top choices for chicken spots? Absolutely!

Fireplace, check.
Bubbles, check.
Fried chicken, check.
Went here last Sunday evening because a friend and I had been talking about getting fried chicken for roughly about forever. If he had been more than a friend (and not hungover), it could have potentially been romantic, but since that wasn’t in the cards, we came here for the food (and me the booze).
While it can get a little pricey, the wine selection by the glass is pretty great (as would be expected), and the food is great comfort food on a cold night. We split the fried chicken and mac n cheese (with the optional pork belly) after a starter of truffle popcorn. All was delicious, although the mashed potatoes that came with the chicken was pretty bland.
It was pretty empty, so I can’t comment on how it gets when it’s busy, but the service was very friendly for just our tiny table for two.
Of all the fried chicken joints in all of Chicagoland, this is one of the better ones. Recommend for dates… or hungover grumpy friends.

I came here on Sunday afternoon, just in time to order from the brunch menu. The place is really cute and it has a great vibe.
I started off with a Bloody Mary, which was excellent — and it came with a fried chicken wing. Yum! I decide to try the friend chicken to see what the fuss was all about, and my husband ordered the burger. It took 30 minutes for the food to come. It’s not a big deal but the place wasn’t packed at all, and it was the end of brunch so I’m pretty sure everyone there had already ordered. Anyways, our waitress never came in those thirty minutes to see how we were doing or if needed anything else.
The food came out and it was pretty good. I liked the chicken, and it came with potatoes and colored greens. It also had a little cup with spicy honey, which was interesting. It was a really big portion, so at the end I asked for a to-​go box. The waitress said okay and went to the bar. I thought she was going to bring me a box, but she just started fixing some glasses. We waited for a couple of minutes, and nothing… I went to the restroom before we left and nothing… We ended up just paying and leaving. It wasn’t worth getting frustrated over.
I’m not sure if I’d go back again. The food was decent, but the service wasn’t that great. Our waitress wasn’t really attentive, even though the restaurant was not busy at all.

A «dive» it is not. But a really fun name that definitely made me want to check it out!
When you walk into Max’s Wine Dive, it is warm and inviting. However, it kind of has that «chain» vibe. Fairly generic with some fun art work thrown in sporadically. I don’t really say that as a criticism but with «dive» in the name, some people might be expecting more personality from the décor.
Our waitress was adorable. She was bubbly, funny, and super helpful. She helped us hone in on the wine we wanted and talked through the menu very knowledgably.
The wine selection is extensive and there were lot of options of wines at varying prices. Meaning if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg (I didn’t!), you’ll be able to find a bottle at a comfortable price point.
The food was great. I highly recommend the Fried Chicken Sliders. They were so delicious that I’m dying to go back and try the full fried chicken dinner. Perfectly fried, drizzled in delicious honey, served on tiny little rolls of delight with lettuce, tomato, and a perfect pickle slice. I hated that we were splitting these bad boys! I wanted them all for myself.
We also ordered the mac and cheese with pork belly. So delicious. Flavorful, creamy, and the pork belly was perfectly done.
We ordered the Cheesy Garlic Bread, which our waitress told us was one of the most popular items. And I can see in other reviews it was well loved by others. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as everyone else. This loaf of crispy bread is topped with garlic butter, olives, heirloom tomatoes, and shredded short ribs. The short ribs were fantastic. The bread stayed crispy and held up nicely to the toppings. But my order was so garlicky (and I love garlic normally!) that I could barely eat it.
The food was delivered as ready. Everything came out SUPER fast and nearly all at once. So that didn’t work out quite as well as I had hoped. When I go back again, I wouldn’t order my items all at once so that I could extend the evening a bit more. It felt a little rushed.
So, all around, this place has a yummy food selection and great wine options. The décor is a little generic but comfortable and warm. I’ll definitely be back.

LOVE this new Wicker Park spot! My friend and I stopped in for dinner on a Monday night and we started with a refreshing (and very reasonably priced) bottle of sparkling Rosé followed by a whole bunch of food:
Nacho Mama’s Oysters — fried Gulf Coast oysters on wonton «chips» with garlic aioli, habanero salsa and cilantro: Love me some fried oysters!
*Pulled Pork Stuffed Peppers — pulled pork and cotija stuffed, topped with chipotle aioli and cilantro chimichurri: Loved, very tasty!
*Small order of the Max ‘n Cheese — cavatappi pasta in a truffle cream sauce with provolone, Gruyère and Parmigiano-​Reggiano. The sauce was pretty thick and I didn’t get as much truffle flavor as I would’ve liked, but I’m still a fan. This would be the perfect bowl of comfort in the cold winter months!
*Famous Southern Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes, collard greens, and chipotle honey. The fried chicken was very good, especially after a hearty dip in the chipotle honey. Sadly the mashed potatoes were very underwhelming but the greens were full of flavor and totally made up for them.
*Fried Brie with raspberry-​chipotle coulis and cilantro salad from their seasonal menu. It was So.Good. — an easy favorite for both of us! Think of it as one big fried mozzarella stick but with creamy brie inside and a sweet but spicy sauce beneath. I think this needs to find it’s way to permanent menu status because I’ll definitely be wanting more when I return.
At this point we were stuffed (as usual) but I’m just not the person who says no to dessert. We had the pots de crème infused with basil, topped with a rhubarb compote, and served with homemade sugar cookies. I’ve seen a few desserts lately that include basil in the list of ingredients and that just never sounded appealing to me. Our server told us that this was the lighter of the two so we went for it despite my hesitation. I am so glad we did because this was delicious! It was indeed a very light, refreshing dessert and the basil flavor was perfect.
2 thumbs up for MAX’s, I’ll be back!

I really liked this place! We came on a Friday night and didnt have trouble getting a table. The waitress was super knowledgeable on wine, the food, etc, which was nice! She let us sample a few choices before deciding on a bottle. We started off with the mussels and bone morrow and both were excellent! I love mussels and these had great flavor/​broth! The bone morrow was the biggest serving i’ve ever received and it has this nice spicy relish on top that went so well. Lastly we ordered the Beet salad. We’ve all had beet salads so this wasnt any fancy or new, but the whipped goat cheese was a nice spin on the salad.
This is a great date night spot, girls night out or birthday dinner spot! Definitely check them out!