I feel as though I am the last blogger on earth to be blogging about M. Wells Diner. Part of that reason is that M. Wells is in Queens. And I just don’t get to Queens very often. There is currently a Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image, however, so we decided to make a day out of it.
M. Wells is built into an old diner car in Long Island City. Usually, it’s quite easy to get there since it’s right above an exit to the 7 Train, however, the 7 wasn’t running this day. So we took the E and walked (and happened to pass PS-1. Another institution I still need to check out).
They are famous for their menu. They are from Quebec, and bring some of their classic food but then add some of the more crazy ingredients, such as foie gras, pork tongue, and gravlax.
I was very curious about the spaghetti sandwich, to be honest!
They also had a nice cocktail menu. I tried the Take 3, which had Cynar in it. Cynar is made from the bitter taste of artichokes. I was hoping for more artichoke and less bitter. I added sugar. SHHH don’t tell.
They had a special that day for chicken fried steak in a foie gras gravy over fries. Om nom nom. This was delicious. The steak was perfectly cooked and the breading was crispy without being over breaded or greasy. The foie gras gravy was at the height of rich deliciousness and it was delicious on both the steak and the fries. A fantastic combo.
We also ordered the escargot and bone marrow. This was awesome. There was more bone marrow than is normally served in restaurants (YAY!) and the escargot on top added great texture and depth of flavor.
We ordered the Maple Pie for dessert, which was described as a pecan pie without the pecans. This was decent, but a little underbaked and lacking in texture. The crust was AWESOME though. I had major crust jealousy.
Overall, M. Wells Diner is just FUN. It’s fantastic for the food adventurer but doesn’t sacrifice quality and excellence just because they use original ingredients. They could just rest on their laurels and be satisfied by SAYING they have foie gras dishes, but they go the extra mile to make sure they’re actually tasty. This was definitely worth the trip to Queens.
The latest news is that the owners were in a real estate battle to extend the lease. They were unable to secure a lease on the space that made sense for their business, so they will be closing up shop at the end of August. They have promised to open a new location in Long Island City shortly thereafter, however. They will be throwing special tasting parties all throughout the month of August as a farewell to their current space. Sounds like fun to me!
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
