Down-to-earth comfort food.(EXECUTIVE DINING)

With its site in Boca Raton's Mizner Park, a cultural center where shopping, dining, art and music come together, Max's Grille might have coasted on location alone. Instead, owner Dennis Max continues to serve inventive food with attentive service.

While parking at some open-air centers like Mizner Park can be a hassle, Max's complimentary valet parking set us off to a good start. As we made our way to our table, we were surprised by how spacious the restaurant's aisles were--we did not have to rub elbows with anyone on our way to a brown leather banquette by the front window. With a total of 325 indoor and outdoor seats, diners have the option to stay inside or enjoy the breeze and people-watching outside. We chose the indoor seating, gently lit by yellow and orange Chinese paper lanterns.

For our starter, we decided on the inventive firecracker rolls loaded with shrimp, chicken and mushrooms, and accompanied by two sauces: a sweet and rich mango sauce and a spicy peanut sauce. The crunchy rolls, shaped like sushi hand rolls, had an expertly blended flavor--none of the individual ingredients overwhelmed the total taste. We favored the spicy peanut sauce for its wonderful Asian flavor. We also tried buttermilk-battered calamari and zucchini, which was cooked perfectly al dente and without a greasy taste. ...