Dessert review: Save room for dessert at Max’s Wine Dive

by Jayme Campbell of Confection Confessions

We recommend the buttermilk pie.

Photo by Jayme Campbell

Bread pudding from Max's Wine Dive

DALLAS — So, Lent is in full swing. Thank goodness I am not Catholic because I have no desire to give up the things that I love. Call it selfish if you’d like, but I live a pretty healthy lifestyle to save for one day a week where I stuff my face with as much sugary carbs as I can. I don’t feel like giving up that day too. Besides, if I did gave up one of my biggest vices, where would you guys go for the latest scoop on sugar?

It seems to me this year I have found more people I know giving up sweets. This makes me sad. It also makes me want to bake their favorite thing and bring it to them, only to watch their resentfulness towards me grow. OK, so maybe I have a sick sense of humor.

What better way to rebel against Lent with the dessert menu at Max’s Wine Dive? Max’s Wine Dive opened late last year in West Village. A few friends and I decided to head out for dinner. I took full advantage of having a gaggle of hungry ladies with me to order three desserts. Not really expecting most of them to be as massive as they were (the desserts, not the ladies), we chose the buttermilk pie, white chocolate bread pudding, and the peanut butter brownie.

Photo by Jayme Campbell

Peanut butter brownie from Max's Wine Dive

I do love myself some bread pudding, and this white chocolate bread pudding was pretty amazing. Just the right amount of Dulce de leche cream made this dish perfect -- not too over-saturated in sauce but not dry either. Nothing is worse than a dry bread pudding. Added was a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I am not so much a fan of ice cream with my bread pudding because I want it to stay warm, and if you don’t attack it quick enough, you’ve got a room temperature bread pudding and a pool of melted ice cream on your plate.

The peanut butter brownie was too much for me. Not saying the taste wasn’t there. It was full of chocolate flavor but very, very dense. It had the consistency of a flourless chocolate cake. I really did not taste much peanut butter; chocolate was the main focus. The bacon toffee popcorn was a nice touch, but the chocolate ice cream on top of a dense chocolate brownie was just too much of the same flavor. I think they are on to something with the concept, but it really needs some rework. I demand more peanut butter!

Photo by Jayme Campbell

Buttermilk pie from Max's Wine Dive

I was sure the bread pudding would have been my favorite, but it was actually the buttermilk pie. It had an amazing huckleberry compote that I wished there was more of and included a dollop of thyme meringue. It had a slight crunchy exterior and not too sweet. The huckleberry and thyme flavors really worked well together and made this pie stand out for your average buttermilk pie. This dessert was much smaller than the others -- and the one that caused spoons to collide as we ate in silence. No one wanted to talk until the pie was gone, for fear that someone would take the last bite.

So, while you guys are all giving up on life’s greatest pleasures, I will be consuming your share, and probably at Max’s Wine Dive.