Maxwell's Market now has three locations in Baton Rouge. The original is on Corporate Boulevard near Jefferson Highway, another is across from Pennington on Perkins Road, and the newest spot is right off of Highland Road near Ruffino's. On a nice sunny day in Baton Rouge I joined Laura and Natalie for a nice "business" lunch at the Perkins location.
Maxwell's Market on Perkins Road
Maxwell's is a locally owned market that carries premium meats, fresh seafood, a great selection of beer and wine, specialty foods, and local produce. Additionally, they offer a delicatessen for patrons that would like to dine in. Their slogan is "Bake. Grill. Chill." Not bad, considering I like all of those things! We took our lunch breaks from busy downtown government life and headed to Maxwell's to sample the deli menu. Maxwell's offers a variety of poboys, burgers, soups, and salads. I decided to go with the Cuban, a poboy style sandwich with a little kick.
Cuban Sandwich from Maxwell's Market
The Cuban sandwich came with layers of roast pork, ham, turkey, salami, Monterey Jack cheese, pickles, mayo, and Creole mustard served hot on French bread. Naturally I ordered mine sans the pickles and mayo. I habitually despise pickles to the point that my hatred would lead to anger and my anger would lead me down the path to the dark side of the Force, but I'm actually ok with mayo in small amounts. Still, when I'm eating at a restaurant, deli, burger joint, or sandwich shop, I typically order my food without mayo because I find that it is rare to find someone who knows my definition of a "thin" layer of mayo. The sandwich tasted fine but I would have preferred a more generous portion of meats and cheeses than what they served. One of my very few complaints about poboys is that often times the bread overshadows the filling. I enjoy overstuffed poboys, and this certainly did not fit that bill. Still, the meats and cheeses were freshly sliced Boar's Head brand and certainly gave a good flavor to the sandwich. The Creole mustard complimented the spicy Monterey Jack perfectly, so all in all I was a happy eater.
Basket of Sweet Potato Fries at Maxwell's Market
During the Fall and the holidays, one thing that I find hard to resist is sweet potato fries. These crispy wedges of sweet potato goodness make me happy that yams are so plentiful around here. They are such a terrific stray from the usual French fry. I shared this basket of fries with the other guests at the table and we were certainly not disappointed.
Overall the trip to Maxwell's ended successfully. I'm glad I went in and saw what this local market has to offer. Although the deli did not blow me away, I'm going to make sure that I do some wine, beer, specialty foods, and meat shopping there. They had some pretty cool stuff!
Advance tickets for the event are $40 each. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $50 each. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.swinepalace.org. This event is open to guests 21 years of age or over, with age verification being enforced.
