Maxine’s

Dine on Southern classics and international fusion cuisine in the ambience of a luxury liner while listening to live music at this Trenton night spot.

By: Pat Tanner

Maxine’s

120 S. Warren St.

Trenton

www.maxinesrestaurant.com

(609) 392-0022
Food: Very good

Service: Casual and friendly

Cuisine: Southern classics and international fusion

Ambiance: 1940s jazz club

Prices: Moderate

Hours: Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: Mon.-Thurs. 5:30-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5:30 p.m.-midnight.

Essentials: Major credit cards accepted; liquor license; smoking in bar lounge; wheelchair accessible; reservations preferred.

Directions

   SO many aspects of Maxine’s surprised me, it is hard to know where to begin.
   Perhaps it is the 1940s Art Deco building that houses the restaurant and jazz club in downtown Trenton, whose interior looks like an old luxury liner and won an award when it was redesigned in 1998. Or perhaps it is the live entertainment on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, which ranges from jazz and R&B to Caribbean and contemporary gospel. Certainly, the food alone is worth a visit, so perhaps I’ll start with that.
   Our server, Russ, tried hard to steer us to the Friday-night seafood buffet, wherein $23 gets all the shellfish and fixings anyone could want, often including lobster. Snow crab legs seemed to be particularly popular, but shrimp, mussels, clams and two kinds of fish fillets were there for the taking. Nevertheless, we persisted in ordering from the menu which, while limited to four appetizers and seven entrées, covers an impressive range, from Southern classics like barbecued ribs and bayou crab cakes to sophisticated international flavors like Szechuan grilled duck with tangerine juice and herb-crusted baby rack of lamb with balsamic vinegar reduction. Henry Page, co-owner with his wife, the eponymous Maxine, does the cooking and brings real flair and skill to it all.
   But I didn’t know that at first, so I played it safe by starting out with a salad of mixed "wild" greens — at $4, a modest price for several fistfuls of flavorful but not actually wild lettuces and herbs, topped by a light and tasty balsamic vinaigrette. On faith alone, my dining companion ordered a strange-sounding starter of fresh mozzarella in warm butter and herb sauce ($6). It turned out to be an improbably delicious combination featuring balls of warm, soft, fresh, milky cheese, braised shiitake mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and shallots in a white-wine cream sauce. We were soon calling dibs on sopping up the sauce with the soft, white dinner rolls. Caesar salad ($5) and coconut chicken tempura with mango-ginger dipping sauce ($5) are the two other starters.

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Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski
A 1940s Art Deco building houses this restaurant and jazz club in downtown Trenton. The interior looks like an old luxury liner and won an award when it was redesigned in 1998.


   Maxine’s has a separate bar-lounge and an upstairs dining room that seats 60 people. The main-floor dining room is cavernous and high-ceilinged, with Art Deco wall sconces and a second-story balcony sporting curved, stainless steel railings that wrap around the room. They conjure up cruise ships like those in old movies featuring Fred and Ginger, Desi, or Carmen Miranda, and today provide a great setting for live music, mostly jazz. On Wednesday nights, singer and Trenton native Grace Little is featured; our Friday night visit featured an excellent group doing new funk jazz. But Henry Page makes sure to offer an eclectic mix that includes classic, straight-ahead, smooth and progressive jazz.
   Diners can choose to eat during the music or come early and then linger. We found the Caribbean jerk roasted salmon ($17), a thick hunk of wonderfully fresh fish, worth lingering over. Its powerful flavors were as pleasing as the portion was generous. The accompanying mango salsa was spicy but not unpleasantly so, and sides of flavorful rice and sautéed fresh, crisp vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and green beans) bore testament to the good work going on in the kitchen.
   I couldn’t resist fried chicken with all the fixin’s ($14). What I got were three pieces of perfect chicken (including a wing, my favorite), their thin coating crunchy, their interior moist and juicy. Also heaped on the platter were huge mounds of pureed sweet potatoes so candied my teeth hurt just to recall them, and grayish collard greens overcooked in the traditional manner but which improved in flavor the next day with a sprinkling of cider vinegar. There was an indifferent corn muffin (too light in flavor and airy to my taste) but also a ramekin of memorably rich, cheesy, buttery macaroni and cheese, still bubbling from the broiler, which has me smiling still.

"Interior

Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski

   Maxine’s does a big lunchtime business, where crowds can choose between a full buffet for $9 or various combinations of soup and sandwich or salad and sandwich for $5. But at night, South Warren Street can be empty, which is why the Pages are looking forward to the opening next month of a parking garage around the corner with 24-hour security, as well as the April opening of the nearby Marriott.
   The wine list at Maxine’s is considerably longer than the menu and is chock full of good, if standard, choices. Among the California reds are reliable names like Rutherford Hill, Merryvale, Belvedere and St. Francis, priced reasonably from $22 to $32. California whites range from Silverado Sauvignon Blanc ($19) to Cuvaison Chardonnay ($32). We enjoyed a Sam Adams beer and a big glass of Delicato Merlot for $4 each.
   Not all the desserts at Maxine’s are made in house, but the homey chunk of chocolate cake ($4) was so good I didn’t care. Among Henry Page’s specialties are sweet-potato pie, apple cobbler and bread pudding, although we had so stuffed ourselves on what came before, we didn’t have room to sample them. Decaf coffee, which we did manage to find room for, proved excellent — another surprise in this altogether surprising and winning spot.
Pat Tanner’s reviews can be heard on Dining Today, Sat. 9-10 a.m. on MoneyTalk 1350 AM and 1040 AM.
For directions to Maxine’s, click here.