Much ink has been spilled over M. Wells in the past two weeks, the majority of it lamenting the fact owners Sarah Obraitis and her husband, Canadian chef Hugue Dufour, lost the lease on their lovely shiny diner just a stroll from the entrance to the Midtown Tunnel in Long Island City. (Read our story about the couple’s protein pedigrees here.)
The place shuts down on August 30, as you’ve probably heard, and they’ve insisted they’ll reopen again in the area–we will help spackle and paint if need be. Naturally lines have been oh-so-long as they prepare their final diner car dinners. but we recommend you pay a visit. We stopped by just last night, and we are very glad we did.
Beyond the incredible duck heart salad, smoked mussels with housemade crackers, the herring-laced Caesar, the silky escargot and bone marrow, a chicken blood crepe called a sanguette topped with a pile of fluttery herbs, the steamed bao stuffed with fried tuna and spicy mayo, a funky cheese and green tomato and lacy crusted tart that blew our freaking minds, the peach cheesecake and pillowy banana cream pie…. beyond all that, by the time we all sat down at our tables, we were one big party, the whole place swapping bites and stories and sighs.
The wait might be long (unless you show up at 10 am or reserve a spot this Friday and Saturday night for their special dinners), but to quote the Replacements, go! Go while you can!
