Your Daily Yum Yum: Maximo’s Italian Grill, New Orleans

I had the opportunity and pleasure of visiting Maximo’s Italian Grill in New Orleans last week, and thought it might be fun to sit at the kitchen bar. 

A long, cool sheet of granite lines the edge of the open grilling kitchen, wafting the smells of garlic and tomatoes to my eager palate. Lovely fillets of fish and breaded veal cutlets graced the shallow pans, quietly sizzling under the supervision of a rather calm kitchen staff. 

I had seen the bright green glimmer of grilled asparagus on the way in, and settled on that for the first course. Super thick stalks arrived in front of me, gleaming with a simple coating of olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper -- my favorite combination of flavors. 

I stole a look at my neighbor’s plate for inspiration on my main course: the grilled scallops appetizer. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. Two huge, moist diver scallops set on a bed of baby greens just melted in my mouth. No knife necessary, these shellfish cut with my fork edge and had a delicate and fresh flavor. The thought of ordering seconds crossed my mind... no, must save room for the next amazing meal. That’s always around the corner in New Orleans.