Reaching My Limit at M Wells

The last month, despite my brain feebly pleading with me to eat better, has been filled with gluttony (much of it recounted here and on twitter). Most of the blame can be put on the holidays, etc. etc. etc., but at this point in January I have no excuse to keep eating like this (no, writing a food blog is not a valid excuse).

On Friday I finished work early, and Steve, apparently having nothing better to do, wanted to try M Wells, the popular Long Island City diner. I went a couple times after they first opened (and posted about it), but hadn't been back since leaving Midtown (two subway stops away) for Brooklyn (you mean I have to take the G?)



We decided to split four dishes. After choosing the meat pie, bone marrow and hot chicken, I left it in Steve's able hands to choose our "light" dish. He opted for the breakfast sandwich... That's it, I'm blaming him for my January gluttony (Steve-- you're a dick).

After a brief wait, an accident (a happy, cholesterol heavy accident) occurred. Our waiter mistakenly brought us their bacon and hash dish. It's got caramelized brussel sprouts, thick slices of smokey bacon a poached egg and Hollandaise sauce all atop a crisp hash brown. There's almost no way it could be bad, and it tasted even better than it looked. I only wish the egg was slightly runnier, but the Hollandaise provided enough lubrication regardless.

Great start. I'm an idiot for not ordering earlier versions of this dish during the Summer, since it's likely one of the best things I've eaten this year.

After our light appetizer, the bone marrow, egg sandwich, and meat pie arrived.

I've had an intense craving for the bone marrow with escargot dish since hearing about its addition to the menu. The perils of high expectations-- it was good, but I was slightly disappointed. I'd imagined it like a traditional escargot, with each snail sitting individually under dollops of bubbling, melted marrow butter and darkened bread crumbs. Not so, this version is a massive piece of marrow with pieces of escargot nestled inside. The marrow was underseasoned and could have been slightly warmer.

The Egg sandwich, with sausage, egg, cheddar, tomatoes and jalapenos on a housemade English muffin is an obvious riff on a McDonald's sausage and egg McMuffin. It's very good, but with so many more creative offerings, it never has been my first choice.

A meat pie of brisket, chicken, pork and foie gras was stunningly good, especially when paired with the cranberry ketchup. You can order a whole one to take home-- I might just have to do that sometime.

Wait, we ordered more food? Oh, shit. "Hot chicken," which doubles down on poutine by adding more starch, arrived last. Two biscuits covered in melted cheddar, chicken, french fries, English peas and covered in gravy. We nearly finished it, though I was soon breathing heavily and listing to the left.

After participating in this devastation, with scattered bits of unknown meats and bone marrow slowly melting on the table, I was still prepared to order a milkshake. Unfortunately, they were out of ice cream. Instead, we split a piece of banana cream pie.

Not only did I feel full the rest of the day, but I could barely eat the next morning (yet I still ate cupcakes from Robicelli's and met my cousin for lunch at Katz's). Somehow that doesn't seem right, but the fact that we couldn't stop eating is a testament to the great food being served up at M Wells.

According to a waitress, M Wells will (finally) start serving dinner as early as this weekend. They plan to open on weekends, then expand. More gluttony to look forward to...