Inattentive and preoccupied texter, Heather (female Maître d') sat my 85 year old father and me at a two-top in a nearly empty Max's Harvest at an off-peak time, when there were plenty of more desirable tables available. We did not have reservations, when we asked to move we were told they were reserved. (When we left the tables were still unoccupied). \r
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We were then handed menus upside-down and twice asked for clean glasses. After being seated, a patron at another table asked for a glass of water. Instead of handling this simple task, host says "oh, your server will be with you shortly" and walked away. \r
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The biggest offense of all, was when our order went to another table, the gentlemen at the table was getting prepared to take a bite of our food , sneezed, and then our server grabbed our food from them and delivered it off to us! \r
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When we asked to speak to the owner, we were told that there were off site owners and they were very wealthy and this was just a pet project. The manager "Kevin" we were told would be the last stop. The owners would be too busy to speak with us. We were told that a manager would phone us. That was 1 week ago and we are back in Manhattan. \r
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We were prepared new meals. The food was poor quality, bland and cold, and a waste of one hundred dollars. My dad had the misfortune of ordering their signature Harvest Seafood "Paella" smelled so fishy one could swear that it was coming from a dry-docked fishing vessel in one-hundred degree weather.\r
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As a food critic for a national publication, I know that the high season for restaurant openings returned this fall with a vengeance, and that there would be a whirlwind of unfamiliar dining options hungry for business. Pork belly and meatballs would fly....so keep alert and you can avoid the most tragic meals, like the one we had at Max's Harvest.\r
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Here's when we should have decided to back away from Max's Harvest and not go through the travails of the nearly one and a half hours. Hope this can help you!\r
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1. There's more than one cocktail ending in "-tini." If you reach for the cocktail list and a fruit, candy or emotion is fused with that suffix in place of a gin or vodka martini, then things are looking bleak. Max's specialty drinks are indicative of cocktail abuse.\r
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2. Our server told us to "save room for dessert." As a food critic, I have found that there are several red-flag phrases that misguided servers repeat. "Are you still enjoying that" feels a bit presumptuous if there's still food on the plate, no? Being told that "everything is so good" without asking, or as menus are put down, is also off-putting. Our server hit all of these. \r
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3. Molten chocolate cake. Or chocolate lava cake. Or liquid chocolate cake or whatever Max's Harvest called it... Well unless you're at a restaurant by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who created the ubiquitous chocolate surprise, this now identity-free dessert undermines a restaurant's culinary focus. Apathetic Italian, Asian, American and every other kind of restaurants serve it because oozing chocolate sells. Max's Harvest can't handle a thoughtful pastry program, awesome gelato or ice cream so please a few cookies from Mrs. Fields would have sufficed.\r
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4. There's a chill in the air, but people the few people there are dressed to sweat. This isn't always obvious, because you might be occupied with admiring people who aren't wearing a lot of clothes, or who are swaying to music that makes you want to dance. Chances are that no one here came to dine-and even the chef knows that. If you're concerned with food, look around to see if anyone is eating. We didn't think so.\r
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5. Lastly we were ushered in off the street. It's unlikely that one restaurant on a touristy strip will be any different from the others just because an animated host told you how great it is. If someone who you don't know, whose opinions you aren't familiar with, and who has a 100-percent bias is trying to convince you to eat at a particular restaurant, you might want to do a little more research before committing to a meal. BEWARE MAX'S HARVEST.
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