M. Wells
21-17 49th Ave., Queens, NY
So it turns out that our first trip to Queens on official Infatuation business happened not for the Authentic Ethnic Eats in Flushing, but to eat food cooked by a Canadian two stops off the 7 train in Long Island City. I’m not even sure that should really count as us going to Queens. Especially considering that M. Wells is about fifty feet from the subway station. That’s the same as telling people that I’ve been to Atlanta just because I caught a connecting flight there once.
What brought us to this strange diner in a strange part of town is the same thing that has been bringing flocks of people that read about restaurants to this place since it opened last summer – the promise of a crazy, one-of-a-kind meal. Chef Hugue Dufour comes from a Montreal restaurant that is known for it’s nose to tail cooking and adventurous creativity, and he’s brought that delicious insanity to this random old diner in LIC. In the same meal at M. Wells, you can eat a meatloaf sandwich, Peking Duck, a fifty dollar burger that serves eight, bibimbap that’s littered with foie gras, veal brains, and a piece of pineapple upside down cake. That’s a lot to wrap your head around, and honestly, you shouldn’t even try to. The best way to approach a meal here is to order recklessly and apologize to your body later.
If you are going to make the field trip to M. Wells, we recommend that you make a reservation and do so for dinner. Brunch can be absolute mayhem, and in this part of town, there’s no such thing as a backup plan. As stated before, we also recommend that you order as much as you can realistically handle, and then order about three more things. We loved our meal here and were thoroughly impressed, but this is honestly a one-time deal. Go big and then go home…and then take a nap.
Photo Credit: Gothamist
Food Rundown:
Beau Soleil Oysters
Weird with a capital W. These are raw oysters topped with a foamy coffee sabayon that overpowers everything. I like oysters, but I’m not sure I like them with my coffee. Proceed with caution.
Caesar Salad
Remember how we said things are crazy in this place? This salad isn’t quite off the reservation, but it’s not fully on it either. The dressing has smoked herring rather than anchovy, which makes for a stronger (and very delicious) flavor. Also, there is so much parmesan on top of this guy that it sort of looks like a Muppet named Salad.
Beef Tartare
Damn. This is one incredible tartare. Hand chopped, heavy on the pickles, and all around awesome.
Aged Meatloaf Sandwich
You should definitely order a sandwich or two for your table when you’re at M. Wells, and this should be one of them. It’s delicious and it probably weighs as much as you do.
Soft Shell Crab Club
Yes. This thing reminds us of the oyster BLT from Cochon and it’s f*cking amazing. If you can get it, get it.
Porchetta Sierra
Sliced porchetta with capers and a mackrel mayo. According to our very smart dinner company, this is a play off vitello tonatto, an Italian dish of sliced veal with tuna flavored mayonnaise. Sounds gross right? It’s not. It’s amazing.
BibiM Wells
A dish that absolutely blew my mind. Basically, this is a Korean bibimbap, M. Wells style. What does that mean? Strips of foie gras, raw scallops, razor clams and all kinds of other things that probably shouldn’t be in there. My brain didn’t really know how to process it other than by telling me to chill the F out and enjoy it. A must order.
Desserts
You need the maple pie. It’s like pecan pie, but without the pecans – only the really good gooey stuff, and a crunchy layer of carmelized sugar on top. Also, the pineapple upside down cake is insanely good.
