Maximillian's in Cary

Jessica and I tried Maximillian's (http://www.maximilliansgrill.com/index.aspx) last night in our continuing quest to eat at the best restaurants in the Triangle, as judged by the News and Observer.  Maximillian's is located on Chapel Hill Road off of exit 290 on I-40, and sits in a strip mall with a music store and Woody's Bar and Grill.  I'd heard somewhat mixed reviews about the place so we wanted to try for ourselves and see what we thought.

Upon arriving, we were seated in a fairly small and cool dining area.  There was a group of tables sectioned off from the bar and then an upstairs seating section as well.  The menu had a great deal of variety; plenty of appetizers and salads as well as pork, chicken, beef, and seafood options for dinner.  Additionally, the waiter had several specials for each category; two more appetizers, an additional salad, and four main courses.  For me, I thought possibly having a paper menu to update each day may work better as I had trouble remembering all of my non-listed options, but it was nice to have a lot of choices.

For appetizers, Jessica had the "Mexican fazool", a spin-off of the Italian classic soup.  It was quite delicious; large chunks of pork were mixed with traditional Mexican flavors like peppers and corn in a flavorful broth.  A few crisp tortillas were used as garnish as well.  I went with the bread plate, which was good but toed the line between an appetizer and standard bread service.  They offered focaccia with melted mozzarella over top, with a side of shaved Parmesan and a balsamic / olive oil / herbs mixture.  The bread was delicious, and both the cheeses and the dipping sauce worked well.

For Jessica's main course, she ordered the Voodoo Pasta, which was touted as the restaurant's most popular dish and their spiciest.  I went with one of the many specials, a lobster, shrimp, and scallop dish served with rice noodles and vegetables.  Both dishes came to the table in large bowls, and looked like great varieties of ingredients with different colors, sauces, and spices sprinkled throughout. 

Jessica's dish, which I tried, had the tuna prepared properly (seared rare) but really lacked any particular flavor or spice.  We both expected something bordering between spicy and insanely hot, and instead found almost no heat whatsoever.  Additionally, the broth (for lack of a better term) that sat in the base of the bowl seemed to give every part of the dish, whether it was the tuna, shrimp, or pasta, the same flavor, eliminating the variety that seemed so prevalent with the presentation.  It would be hard to call this dish "bad" but I would say it was disappointing, as it didn't really stand out on any account.

My dish also had a broth in the bottom of the bowl that muddled flavors a bit, but overall, held up better than Jessica's.  I had a whole lobster (on the smaller side, but still generous with the other seafood), four or five scallops, and several shrimp with a spicy sauce that was more in line with what I expected from the waiter's description.  All of the seafood was cooked perfectly, and the differences in flavor between the lobster, scallops, and shrimp were noticeable if not well-defined.  The portion was huge, so I ended up saving most of the noodles and eating only the seafood, which was still plenty.  My biggest complaint, which I partially expected, was the cost of my special; it was $15 more than anything on the menu and I would have expected this to be pointed out by the waiter, although I didn't ask (I'm not one to really complain about the cost but it'd be courteous in a situation like this when the gap is quite large).

Overall, I'd say that both Jessica and I were disappointed with our meals.  The food was certainly solid and everything was cooked well, but the main courses didn't have anything that truly stood out in them, something I think is imperative for finer quality restaurants.  I'd be interested to come back and try something simpler the next time, as maybe I'd see a better focus on a specific flavor rather than the muddled efforts we had.  Without tring something else, though, I would certainly have to recommend most other places we've conquered on our quest ahead of Maximillian's.