Max and Dylan's, Boston, MA

Erik and I went to Boston to see Of Montreal last night and after the show, went to this little restaurant to grab food before heading home. It was tiny and chic and I'd seen the menu online and was pleased to find that although it was quite upscale, it had really cool and comfortable foods that one wouldn't be afraid to order and enjoy with a nice glass of wine and company.

So after the show, it wasn't quite empty, but that was perfect because our food arrived within ten minutes of us ordering it. Erik ordered the beef tenderloin flatbread with mashed potatoes, frizzled leek, and truffle oil, and I ordered the flash-fried jalapeno cheese sticks. I wasn't too enthusiastic about the beef flatbread because it contained two things I really try to avoid- beef and mushrooms. Truffle oil being a far cry from the actual fungi, but still.
However, being a food critic, I had to do my duty. And hot damn. First off, when it came out, it wasn't what I expected, which was the one piece of flatbread like a sandwich with the potatoes and leeks on the side, but the flatbread was covered in the potatoes, drizzled with leeks, the beef was also liberally placed all over it, and then, the truffle oil.

It was cut into squares like a pizza, and what I imagined would happen was that I'd take a piece, from Erik's chiding, nibble off a piece, pretend I liked it, and then let him eat the rest, but I ended up eating half of the entire pie. It was amazing. I've heard people say, "That beef melted in my mouth," only to eat beef and have it be stringy and disappointing, but that beef actually melted. It was so tender and buttery, with just the tiniest bit of rock salt on top, which sweetened the truffle oil and accentuated its buttery flavor. The mashed potatoes, which I originally thought were some sort of ricotta or mascarpone cheese, were gods unto themselves, and to think that I thought them a lowly side dish. They were creamy and amazing, like the sperm of the gods. The leeks added a crunch to the flatbread that the bread itself also gave, and it held together in a wonderful combination that I would have never tried if it wasn't for stepping outside of my damned comfort zone.

Ain't it good?
The jalapeno cheese sticks also exceeded my expectations, because I thought that the cheese sticks would have rounds of pickled jalapeno studded amidst them, which isn't really my forte, but I liked the idea, and was excited to try something spicy. When they came, they were colorful, big triangles with sea salt on top and gooey mozzarella on the inside. The serving was more than enough for the two of us to share and still be full. The jalapenos were infused throughout the breading, which was made of tortilla chips. The flavor was great, and since they were flash-fried, there was virtually no grease to be found in them. They were fresh tasting and wonderful, and the salsa they served it wish was sweet and very ripe.
We really loved the restaurant, and it inspired me- MAYBE- to try a few more new things in my diet outside of the general meat and potatoes. I'm not going to try mushrooms, so don't expect to see them on the reviews anytime soon, but maybe a few new things will pop up. But I really did enjoy the atmosphere and loved the home-like and comfortable menu. If only there were desserts! Overall, though, we loved Max and Dylan's pretension free style and laid back way of service.