We had read about the Long Island City eatery M. Wells from a piece in Time Out NY and were instantly intrigued. One recent, foggy Sunday morning we made the 60 mile trip to the diner at which point we parked nearby and waited outside with a cadre of apparent hipsters for our name to be called. Once we got in, we quickly realized that the wait was most definitely worth it. Lynn had a great and delicate fish and chips entree which was wrapped in the pink newspaper of the Financial Times. I had tartar which managed to have just the right amount of heft and flavor. Most unusual of all were the oysters we had which were topped with a white wine/espresso foam which gave them a sweet and briny kick.
Our brunch cocktails were decadent treats on a crummy day. I don't remember them all that well but mine was entitled a "Slap Shot" and had Canadian Club in it; a tribute no doubt to the national sport of Canadian Chef Hugue Dufor. It was fascinating to watch Chef Dufour work with a kind of relaxed intensity; it reminded me a little bit of the energy Miles Davis had when he performed; confident but wound up tight at the same time. It was not a complete great experience, we had several servers some of which were more engaged than others and the hostess seemed distracted and demonstrated annoyance if we checked with her about where we were with regard to our wait (mainly because we saw parties seated ahead of us who arrived after we did). If this place can raise it's level of service to the food then MW may attain legendary status (at least for now).
M & L
