Max & Dylan’s Kitchen Bar
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 01:02 PM | Posted by caroloc
1 Chelsea Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
By Rachel Caine
Atmosphere
Javier Perez, the owner of the Charlestown iteration of Max & Dylan’s is as energetic and vibrant as the atmosphere of the restaurant he runs. Perez glides around the dining room, chatting with patrons and his servers, smiling and making every diner feel welcome.
When I asked Perez what he thought made Max & Dylan’s unique, though, it wasn’t the food that got him jazzed up (though he loves the food: “Everything’s good. We’re proud of everything on the menu”), but the location, which he described as one of the “best kept secrets of Boston.”
Situated right on the other side of the bridge into Charlestown, Max & Dylan’s is a short walk to TD Bank Garden, with cheap parking (we parked on a game night for $8 at a lot less than a block from the entrance to the restaurant) and dining incentives, like 25% off the check on game days when you bring in your ticket.
A large, open dining room and bustling bar make this venue the perfect place to get together with a large group of people pre or post-game, or even to watch the game if you are not fortunate enough to have tickets yourself. Coupled with Max & Dylan’s great location and yummy food, I would highly recommend a trip the next time you’re going to TD Bank Garden.
Appetizers
Since Max & Dylan’s draws such a large sports crowd, the menu boasts an enormous selection of appetizers and smaller fare, including regular appetizers, such as their very popular “Buffalo Chicken Dip,”and Perez’s favorite, “Blackened Scallops.” In addition, they have an entire section devoted to different kinds of macaroni and cheese and another devoted to sliders. It’s a comfort-food lovers dream.
Not big fans of buffalo sauce, we decided to skip the crowd favorite, and try the “Lip Searing Ahi Tuna,” the “Kobe Beef Sliders,” which we ordered medium-rare, along with a “Grilled Pear Salad” and the “Beet Salad,” both of which were enormous! The Ahi and the sliders were the hits of evening. 
The tuna was fresh and sweet, glazed in a chili-soy sauce and served with wasabi, ginger and seaweed salad. The sliders were beautiful, and actually cooked to our specification (I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a slider cooked to my preferred rareness), with lots of flavor and paired with lemony greens, balsamic-glazed onions and a tiny bit of smokey gouda.
The salads,
as I mentioned were rather large, but not terribly exciting. Both were heavy on the greens and light on the interesting components (the beet salad had very few beets and they were not presented well while the 
pear salad was somewhat bland, with very few of the candied pecans and the blue cheese.
