Sunday brunch is quite the ritual. It occurs religiously every week at the same time. And once the weekend rolls around, I can feel my bones, stomach, hangover routinely craving the thearapuetic qualities of fresh mimosas, spicy eggs, and shaded patios. It’s safe to say that I’ve brunched a lot in Houston. I’ve been to some good ones. I’ve been to some bad ones. I’ve been to slow ones and busy ones. I crave brunch. I love brunch. I get brunch.

You know who else gets brunch? Max’s Wine Dive. Oh yeah. They totally get it. And I have been trying to brunch there for months! I’m not even kidding. I’ve ended up  next door at Cuchara many times because the wait at Max’s is three hours long. Yeah. You heard me one, two, three hours long. Max’s gets the holiness of the brunch ritual. And they are kind of a BFD.

They are also the straight up busiest and most difficult to get into on a Sunday morning. But if you are determined, dedicated, and a little bit lucky, you too can brunch in the glory that is Max’s Wine Dive. Here’s how:

• Get your ish together. Make plans for your weekend ahead of time. You need to call at least 3-4 days ahead of time if you want a reservation. If you can’t live without AC then you best set a reminder on your phone for Wednesday, so you can secure yourself a table.
• There are two locations. I’ve been to both. They are both delightful and delicious. If you can’t get into one, call the other. One’s in Montrose, one’s off Washington. Pretty close, and worth the drive either way.
• Wake up early. If you decide you want to spontaneously go to Sunday brunch at Max’s the night before or the day of, you have a chance! If you arrive at the Fairview location in Montrose between 10-11:30am, there is a pretty good chance you’ll be able to get seated on the patio immediately. They don’t take reservations for the patio, so it’s first come first served.
• Don’t take no for an answer. If you show up to sit on the patio, and the hostess is dumb and won’t seat you in the open seats, ask to see a manager or someone who actually knows what’s going on (hint: these people are wearing keys on a bungee thing around their arm). This may or may not have happened to #BrunchKlub this weekend. And it was horrible and annoying, and we ended up standing around for 20 minutes watching the empty tables outside slowly fill up, while the hostess–who was working her first day and didn’t know ish–told us that the patio was reserved. *deep breath* Patio is not reserved. It’s first come first serve. #endrant

So now that you’re seated expect to get the best meal of your life. I have a soft spot for just about everything [vegetarian] on the menu at Max’s. Their whole mojo is fancy ass wines paired with comfort food. You can’t get much better than that! Max n’ Cheese with champagne? Don’t hate it.

Since it’s brunch it’s basically mandatory to start your meal off with a mimosa. And since you are at a fancy shamncy wine bar, you def can’t say no. I recommend the grapefruit jucie one. Starting price for mimosas is $4.75. Not bad.

The menu is insane. No one could decide what to get because everything looked so dang good! I went with the Green Goat  Omelette (collard greens, goat cheese, and three eggs) with the spicy jalopeno cheddar grits. Others went with the same but with the homefries (spicery than expected!). Others at the table chose the Fried Egg Sandwich (huge portions, delicious, served with homemade potato chips), the Max n’ Cheese (heaven), and the Souther Fried Chicken (jalapeño-buttermilk marinated chicken, home fries, collard greens and Texas toast). All the portions were hefty and filling, presented beautifully, and served in a timely manner. However, the restauraunt was hella busy and we never did get ketschup or hot sauce to the table.

Also the valets are more than amusing the watch. If you sit outside at the Fairview location, where you can watch close encounters happen again and again with BMWs, Range Rovers, and Escalades. The drama and speed will keep you on the edge of your seat and provide a little entertainment for your meal.

I would 110% go to Max’s Wine Dive again for brunch. The grapefruit juice mimosas, creative entrees, and valet drama made the wait time and reservation fiasco totally worth it.