After Four Years of Just Beer and Wine, Max's Wine Dive Starts Serving the Hard Stuff

Dallas does a boozy brunch pretty well. It's basically a way of life around here. Who was it that said “a brunch without alcohol is just a sad, late breakfast”? An omniscient Sunday bruncher, that's who. When Houston transplant Max's Wine Dive opened its brunch-friendly, chicken-fried doors in West Village without...

By Susie Oszustowicz

June 8, 2016

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Dallas does a boozy brunch pretty well. It's basically a way of life around here. Who was it that said “a brunch without alcohol is just a sad, late breakfast”? An omniscient Sunday bruncher, that's who.

When Houston transplant Max's Wine Dive opened its brunch-friendly, chicken-fried doors in West Village without the promise of liquor, it’s safe to say Dallasites were more than a bit skeptical. How good could their fried chicken really be, and would it make up for their lack of bloody marys and screwdrivers to mitigate hangovers? The answer: real damn good.

A restaurant in Dallas that specializes in brunch and doesn't serve liquor survived almost four years before joining the ~~cool~~ drunk kids and offering heavier-handed libations. Color me impressed. Expect amped up standards with a Texas twist, like the Texas Ruby Martini, Gold Rush and Cactus Heat — don’t look for craft or wildly imaginative cocktails, but do look for cocktails.
Along with offering cocktails, Max’s new executive chef Rex Turner is upping the ante by taking the food menu back to its roots. Along with Max's standards, you'll find a seasonal menu inspired by Turner's whims, like the tamarind-glaze salmon that features a reduced tamarind soda as the base of the glaze, and the Rice Krispie shrimp sprinkled with candied habanero.

Their slogan may be “Fried chicken and Champagne … Why the Hell Not?!” but we’ll take the liquor, too.

MAX’s Wine Dive, 3600 McKinney Ave.

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