This past week the New York Times Dining Section awarded M. Wells Diner their coveted 2 star rating.  Well, I’m here to tell you that we had already given the diner our coveted 4 star rating!  Our last visit there was for lunch/brunch/breakfast with a crew of eaters.  Steve and I were joyfully accompanied by Doug from San Francisco, Ellen and Greg from Minneapolis, and Anna from our favorite coffee bar JOE on Columbus Avenue.  We went to eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We began with donuts and ployes – donuts you know, ployes you may not.  They are very thin buckwheat pancakes, a beloved Canadian dish.  Sometimes they are served with cretons which are sorta like rillettes, but most often with maple syrup.  At M. Wells they were swimming in the most delicious maple syrup I have ever tasted.   Looking back, I’m not sure it was the best idea to begin with sweets, but I just couldn’t contain my greed and wanted something quick to start.  We ended up with a bit of everything on the menu – Steve had the breakfast sandwich, Greg had the Cubano (they both shared), Ellen had the pan con tomate (and she didn’t share a bite and we won’t let her forget it) while Doug, Anna, and I ordered the rest of the menu.  Among the delicousness we found gravlax pie, escargot and bone marrow (my favorite), picked lamb tongue, a venison dish, a lush soup – a couple of bottles of wine and a couple of bottles of beer rounded out the meal – and, we all shared the tarte tatin – just a bite each to fill the tiny space left in our tummys!

The great folks at M. Wells are now serving dinner Tuesday to Thursday but you really do need a crowd to join you as everything on the dinner menu seems to be served up for a table of at least 4.  I can’t wait to try the Bibi M Wells and the Aged Meat Loaf.  However with the praise given by the Times, there is probably going to be long lines for a long time.  Wanna go?  We’re looking for a crowd.