Max & Erma's

Max & Erma's
MacArthur Center
300 Monticello Avenue #6
Norfolk, VA 23510

Phone: [phone]
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One Sunday evening, not too long ago, my wife and I celebrated our anniversary with a trip to MacArthur Center in downtown Norfolk for movie and a dinner, with some pre-Christmas window-shopping thrown in.

The movie was so-so, except for the handholding, which was great! After the movie, we decided on Max & Erma's for dinner, since they had a variety of foods on their menu, and we still weren't sure what we wanted.

Since I had little to eat that day, my choices included both a salad and French onion soup for starters. My bride chose only the salad. The French onion soup was delicious; the salad was okay, fresh, but nothing exciting.

My main course was the Reuben Grill which included corned beef and Swiss cheese, piled high, really high, on grilled Jewish rye. The sandwich was covered with sauerkraut and a dash of Thousand Island dressing. I do wish they had put more Thousand Island dressing on it, though. I had to check visually to see if it was there, since I really didn't taste it. The sandwich plate came with potato salad, not bad, but a bit dry. In all, the sandwich was very good, and there was certainly plenty of it.

Cleriece had Laredo steak, which was a USDA Choice sirloin steak, char grilled, sliced and topped with what was billed as a "special-recipe cactus butter." The steak was good, but a just bit under-cooked, still flavorful. The special "cactus butter" was spicy, tasty and a delightful addition to the steak. The included baked potato, of course, is necessary when enjoying a good steak dinner.

The meal was filling, although I considered a trip or two to their "build-your-own-sundae-bar." As tempting as that sounded, I was well satiated and ready to walk about the mall some more.

For about $32, we had an enjoyable meal; there were excellent lesser-priced items to choose from on the menu, particularly in the sandwich area, but, hey, it was our anniversary and we felt the prices to be fair. Service was excellent; our server, an English major in college, had a great sense of humor and her enthusiastic personality added to the fun and enjoyment of our dining experience.

Oh! Almost forgot: We got a $2.00 per ticket discount because we still had our ticket stubs from the theater located in the mall, so if you see a movie at MacArthur Center, save those ticket stubs to help with the cost of a fine meal at Max & Erma's.

Major credit cards are accepted, so go, eat, drink, shop and enjoy!