East End Eats: Cafe Max

March is the month when the Hamptons plays musical restaurants. Old names crop up in new places, new names appear with a fanfare on the site of old favorites, and some of last year's blazing stars disappear over the horizon. It's a fact of life in any resort area with busy summers and a long off-season, but it's unsettling.

And that makes it all the nicer when a restaurant, particularly a small, independent one, finds its niche and can be found in the same place spring after spring. It's as reassuring as the first crocus.

Cafe Max, housed in a little dollhouse of a building beside the highway in East Hampton, is one such. It has put down roots, collected a loyal clientele, and looks as if it's here to stay.

The chef and owner, Max Weintraub, ran the restaurant at the Maidstone Arms for many years until new ownership prompted him to make a move. That turned out for the best, as it has given him a chance to provide a more informal atmosphere and set his personal stamp more firmly.

The informality starts with the sensible message on the answering machine when you call to make a reservation. Last week it announced that there was no need to make a reservation for Friday, just come along, but leave your name and number for a Saturday reservation if it was for more than three people. So civilized.

The small dining area is attractive and cozy and, thanks to the high barn ceiling, does not seem overcrowded even when every table is packed, as it was one night last week.

Cafe Max has an excellent wine list with one helpful feature that should be copied by others. It marks the wines with one or more stars, according to the ratings system from the Wine Spectator.

In the old days, if you wanted a red wine you turned to the Bordeaux section or the Burgundy section and it was all pretty simple. But now, with good wines coming from California and Australia, Spain and Chile, Long Island and Outer Mompopoland, who can keep up, let alone know what was a good year?

The house Merlot is a fine choice and we would have happily continued with it had it not been outshone by a bright, eye-opening Beringer cabernet sauvignon which spoiled us for anything less.

Mellow Offerings

Good warm bread and little plates of excellent olives and roasted red peppers put diners in a mellow mood while they order. The appetizers, ranging from $4 to $8, included crab cakes with a good, strong crab taste and a nice crunch.

The lump crab meat was no more and no less. The fried calamari - yes, they're everywhere - were lovely, though the sauce lacked its usual zip on this occasion.

Highly recommended is the plate of roasted peppers, goat cheese, and anchovies. It sounds rather modest but the taste and texture combination is perfectly balanced.

The only disappointment was the Caesar salad, which was made with a rather dry, light-green lettuce instead of crunchy green Romano and lacked the distinctive Caesar salad flavors. The mixed salad, on the other hand, was a nice bouncy mix of ingredients with a pleasant, slightly sweet dressing.

Angelic Liver

The entrees range from $15 to $20 and always include a good selection of fresh local fish. Dishes tried with approval on earlier visits include cioppino, a saffron-flavored seafood stew, and the blackened Cajun bass, which is a winner.

I ran into a friend who ate there on Friday - she and her guest had had coq au vin and a sea scallop dish, about which she waxed poetic for some minutes.

The special the other evening was calves liver, which can be heaven when it's cooked right and hell when it isn't. On this occasion it was on the side of the angels, served with onions, herbed mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables.

Main Dishes

Perhaps the stars of the main dishes were the baby lamb cutlets, which were cooked to perfection, tender, and full of flavor.

Calves liver can be heaven when it's cooked right and hell when it isn't. It was on the side of the angels.

But the Veal Theresa, sauteed medallions of veal in a garlic and white wine sauce topped with shrimp, came a close second because of the subtle and interesting combination of flavors. It was served with some kind of polenta, dark and laced with herbs, that was totally delicious.

We tried two different pastas. One was an interesting combination of pesto, broccoli, garlic, and grilled fresh tuna. The tuna was a bit overdone, but it was a thought-provoking combination.

The other was lobster linguine, which comes with chunks of lobster meat in a garlic and tomato sauce. This is usually a surefire hit at Max's but on this occasion was a little underseasoned.

The pastas can be ordered in half portions or meatless, which is a nice customer-friendly touch.

Fabuloso!

All the desserts were spot on. The creme caramel was obviously freshly made in the kitchen. The strawberry shortcake was all it should be, with berries that weren't sour and real whipped cream.

There was a lime mousse pie that was very nice, a cranberry and nut concoction that was tasty and crunchy, and a chocolate mousse cake that was fabuloso.

Just like the restaurant itself, the food is fresh, down-to-earth, and pleasing.

Back And Back Again

One got the feeling that the diners had come back again and again (there was even one of those birthday moments - such fun for some and such embarrassment for others - when, with lights dimmed, a twinkling disco ball, and special music, a birthday cake is brought out to the table).

Toward the end of the evening, Mr. Weintraub emerges from his tiny kitchen and goes from table to table greeting diners and checking to make sure everyone is content.

Cafe Max is just about to close for a few weeks for its annual vacation, but will then be back as a firmly established and welcome part of the East End eating scene.