Before we talk about all of the delicious food we ate at Max’s, check out the video we did for them…

As part of our incredible ten day, six state, five B+B road trip extraordinaire, we stopped in Paducah, Kentucky to indulge in some deliciousness. We found it at Max’s Brick Oven Café.

Max Bastani and his wife, Judy, opened Max’s Brick Oven in 1998 and it has been a staple of Paducah ever since. Max and Judy treat their employees and customers like family. They allow their kitchen staff to open their creative minds and learn about their craft in a way many restaurants don’t. We were able to listen to their new saucier and the marketing coordinator talk about how much they loved working for Max and Judy.

They allow them to be people outside of the restaurant and give them just enough space to grow and flourish. It’s truly remarkable.

For our first course, we had Max’s Shrimp de Provence.

It’s wild caught shrimp sautéed in herbes de Provence butter, served alongside grilled Tuscan bread and an out-of-this-world Italian salsa.

We were sopping up that butter with the grilled Tuscan bread and the bread in the basket they brought. It was that good! We’re still dreaming about it, and Joanie B'.’s trying to get the recipe.

They have a variety of delicious appetizer options, but if you’re a shrimp eater, we highly recommend the Shrimp de Provence!

We were served two entrees, both extremely delicious!

Joanie B. had the Steak Forestier, which is right up her alley. it’s a 12 oz. rib-eye (her favorite cut), topped with mushrooms, gorgonzola cheese, and a Merlot wine sauce. it’s served alongside creamed potatoes and the featured vegetable.

She’s not much of a wine sauce lady, but the typical wine/alcohol-ish taste wasn’t there. Everything paired beautifully and made for a yummy steak.

Jenni had the Brick Oven Salmon. It’s a perfect piece of Atlantic salmon roasted in the wood fired oven on cedar plank. It’s topped with a wasabi beurre blanc sauce and served with wilted spinach and roasted rosemary potatoes.

Now, Jenni’s had salmon before, but this was the most perfectly cooked and deliciously flavored one she’s ever had.

Another thing worth noting: Joanie B. has a garlic sensitivity and none of the food we ate had an overpowering taste of garlic, and she didn’t get a migraine afterwards. So that was a win!

Of course they didn’t let us leave without dessert!

Joanie B. dove into the New Orleans Bread Pudding, which was heaven on a plate! It’s made completely in house and served warm with a whiskey sauce poured all over it and the plate. All we can say is… yum! And there’s no better dessert to enjoy in Kentucky than a whiskey sauce covered bread pudding.

Jenni B. indulged in the classic creme brûlée. It was perfectly torched on top and set inside. And the fresh strawberries and blueberries just made it 10x better.

A very special thank you to Max’s Brick Oven Café for allowing us to come in and feature your yummy food. We can’t wait to come back to Paducah and come inside your gorgeous restaurant again.

And thank you to Jacob Matlock (AKA Israel James Music) for coordinating the whole thing. This guy is not only the best server to ever exist, but he’s also a marketing coordinator and an amazing hip-hop musician. Definitely check him out.

If you’d like to support this wild ride, become a Patron, we have some awesome reward tiers. Sometimes we even pick up little gifts for you along our travels.

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Max’s Brick Oven Café is serving up some of the best food in Paducah, Kentucky.

Max's Brick Oven Café || The Best Restaurants in Paducah, Kentucky #1