M. Wells: Quebecan Diner in Queens

If you ever follow @samkimsamkim when he's in New York, you'll see all the amazing places he checks into on 4 Square. Despite living here, I can't keep up with all the new joints like Sam can. So when I had the opportunity to join him for a day, I met him up for lunch at M. Wells in Long Island City.
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Riding the 7 train out of Manhattan, I realized that this would be my first foray into Queens that didn't end in either Flushing or at JFK. There was a huge stretch of train stops that I've ignored as I've made the trek for Chinese food in the past. M Wells is right on top of the Hunter's Point stop on the train, actually very close to Manhattan. In fact, I was confused looking up directions initially because the directions only told me to get off the train and abruptly terminated. It took several minutes to figure out that the last step really was no more than walk outside.


M. Wells is in a retrofitted diner, opened by a husband-wife team from Montreal with training at Au Pied de Cochon. The concept is bringing simple Quebecan food to common American diner fare. Hot dogs, hamburgers, and hash shared the menu with foie gras, lobster rolls, and pickled pork tongue. I ordered a spiced lemonade while Sam and I decided on our lunch.


I'm Taiwanese. Spicy duck tongues were one of my favorite small dishes as a kid. I'm Californian. I always appreciate a good lengua taco. This was my first encounter with pickled pork tongue ($6) however. Considering I've taken part in ritual decimation of pigs before, it was odd that I've never had tongue. For $6, I was surprised how large it was. It would be too odd to make a meal in itself, but the pickled flavors permeated the meat and did not taste anything like beef tongue. Not bad, and seeing as how I have no reservations with offal, I would order it again in the future.


After reading the Serious Eats review of M. Wells, I knew I had to order the hot dog with sweet bacon chili and slaw ($5). My favorite dog at Pink's in LA was the coleslaw dog. While this hot dog lacked the traditional snap in the casing I use to judge hot dogs, the sweet chili put it over the top. I found myself scraping the plate for the remnants of chili. Good price for a gourmet dog, though it wouldn't be enough on its own for a meal.


Sam pointed me to the first item on the menu, the one he had heard the most raves for: egg-sausage sandwich with cheddar, tomato, pickled jalapeño, on an English muffin ($8). This mammoth of a breakfast sandwich would be more than enough for a satisfying lunch. The pickled jalapeño added less of a kick than an intriguing contrast in flavor. My problem with scrambled egg sandwiches is always the overdominance of egg, and typically bad egg. There was none of that here; it's certainly worth ordering.

As of this writing, the restaurant is only open for breakfast and brunch until 4 pm Sunday-Thursday. It serves quintessentially lunch food, but given the time it takes for the food to come out and the location, it wouldn't be pragmatic for office workers to make it out for a trip. I'll probably come back when they start serving dinner, but for now, I'll recommend it to anyone looking for a great lunch in New York.

M. Wells
mwellsdiner.com
21-17 49th Ave. (right off the Hunter's Point 7 train stop)
Long Island City, Queens
(718) 425-6917

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Curry's Good, Katsu's Better: Muracci's Japanese Curry & Grill San Francisco

Open only for lunches and early dinner, Muracci's Japanese Curry in the Financial District of downtown San Francisco does brisk, delicious business.

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While famous for their curry, which is cooked for two days, this little shop's katsu (pork cutlet) needs more exposure. Although the curry was good, it didn't quite leave as splendid a lasting flavor as I had hoped. When I'm eating stew-like foods, I want each spoonful to be lip-smacking after each bite. Muracci's curry has complexity, but it doesn't seem to last long enough. This might have to do with the viscosity of the sauce. Plenty of flavor, but too thin to last on your palate after the last morsel slides down your gullet.



I will point out that the pork cutlet was the best I've had. Thick and juicy, it's tough with pork to keep it from drying out. Too many tonkatsus I've had rely too heavily on the sauce or breading to impart flavor. I almost mistook Muracci's pork for a chicken cutlet it was so tender. Additionally, I had the chicken katsu. While good, it lacked the depth of the pork.

I especially appreciated that Muracci's makes all the dishes to order, rare among counter, lunch-focused shops. The staff is also Japanese and very friendly. There is also a Los Gatos location for those hesitant to trek out to the downtown. Slightly pricey, (~$9) for a katsu curry, but what do you expect in the City?

Muracci's Japanese Curry and Grill
muraccissf.com
307 Kearny Street
San Francisco (Financial District), CA 94108-3204
415-773-1101

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Lunch at the Park: Eleven Madison Park

After hearing for months about the fantastic experiences had by many of my friends at Eleven Madison Park, I finally got an excuse to go when my friend Mattatouille came to NYC. It started with Sam raving about his new favorite restaurant EMP when we met up at Di Fara for pizza in the summer. I kept seeing EMP all over his twitter feed and couldn't figure out what it stood for. Then came Fiona and Danny. I couldn't take it anymore. I just had to try it myself.

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Matt and I decided to come for lunch. Though Chef Daniel Humm offered a gourmand six-course tasting menu for lunch ($68), we opted for the three-course prix fixe ($42). There was also a two-course ($28) available. We picked two each from the five first-course, four second-course, and seven third-course dishes. In usual blogger fashion, we split each dish for a sample of each.

Bread and Amuse


Gougeres

Bacon baguette and rosemary bread


Foie gras green apple macaron and celery root panna cotta

The starters came out and we were off and running. I have never tried a savory macaron, and I was quite looking forward to this little morsel. Having missed out on New York's Macaron day last week, this was going to be my chance to make up for it. Apparently several bakeries got together in an effort to push macarons as the next cupcake gave out free samples. By the time I made it to Bouchon Bakery, they had ran out. While I liked the sweetness and texture of the pastry, the apple dominated and I didn't get much foie flavor at all. I would've preferred either more foie and less apple, or simply for them to serve it as a mignardises rather than an amuse. The touch of truffle on the panna cotta added a nice earthy balance, but otherwise, too small to be memorable.

First Course


Butternut squash velouté with Hawaiian blue prawns and maitake mushrooms

The first dish was an introduction to what Chef Humm could do with mushrooms. Commonly known as "chicken-of-the-woods" mushrooms, I could see where maitakes got that odd moniker. It was meaty in a sense, but much more flavorful than to compare to chicken. It soaked up the velvety velouté and each bite released more and more of that milky butternut squash. There was a dearth of prawn; I only noticed that little piece near the bottom. The dish would've benefited from more shrimp flavor, and maybe less of a curry overtone.


Balik salmon with pommes dauphine, frisée and crème fraîche

While the velouté favored a tightly knit plate composition, the salmon spread out playfully. Both presentations benefit in making a small amount of food seem larger than it really is. Balik salmon is a lightly smoked Norwegian salmon, which paired nicely with the frisée (otherwise known as curly endive). The smoked sliced topped pommes dauphine, mashed potatoes mixed with choux pastry and fried, giving a whimsical presentation. My favorite component of this plate was the salmon tartare in the center with a perfectly precise amount of lemon and roe.

Second Course


Spaetzle with Niman Ranch pork belly, pommery mustard and spinach

This was not the first time I've seen pork belly paired with spaetzle. I wonder if its a common German dish. I felt this dish to be a little on the salty side. In fact, the spatezle reminded me of a fancy macaroni and cheese. Oddly enough, the pork wasn't overly salted. I enjoyed the pickled mustard seeds adorning the slab of meat, almost like a string of caviar. The spinach helped cut through the heaviness of the spaetzle. Again, you can notice the integration of more mushrooms, possibly maitake.


Fregola sarda with veal sweetbreads, hedgehog mushrooms and fine herbes

Sweetbreads always remind me of chicken nuggets. That might make it sound like sweetbreads are repulsive. The very opposite actually, I love chicken nuggets. But most of the time I have sweetbreads, they are deep fried and breaded. It's hard not to make the comparison. Besides, you'd be much more turned off if you knew what sweetbreads actually were. This was my first experience with fregola sarda, a Sardinian toasted round pasta similar in texture to orzo. They served a similar function in this sweetbreads dish as the spaetzle did with the pork belly. They added substance to balance out the petite meat on top. I was amazed that the sweetbreads managed to stay crispy even when surrounded by a moat of sauce.

Third Course


Bouillabaisse of black bass, bouchot mussels, manila clams and chorizo

I must have had it before, but I couldn't remember the last time I had bouillabaisse. The flavor of this one stuck with me throughout the day. Unlike the velouté, which coated your mouth but then washed away with a sip of water, the fiery bouillabaisse grabbed me and didn't let go. Just look at that shimmering black bass; the fish was perfect. Though the menu listed manila clams, I believe they were ultimately substituted by bay scallops. Not that I complained, the scallops were delectable and I think clams would've been redundant with the mussels.


St. Canut Farm cochon de lait with rubarb, spring onion and ice wine vinegar

I did a little research. St. Canut Farm is a French-Canadian farm in Quebec specializing in milk-fed piglets. Milk-fed young pork--you'd imagine it would be quite tender. This dish consisted of two pieces: the loin and the belly. The loin was unfortunately overcooked. It lost much of its ability to retain juices. A pity considering how delicious the jus was. In fact, I could only eat the loin when it was heavily doused in jus. The belly on the other hand--magnificent.



Since most people come to Eleven Madison Park for dinner, I thought I would get a unique perspective trying them for lunch. I got great pictures. The dining room with its high ceilings, private dining space upstairs, and Miles Davis playing on loop had a great old feel. High windows also gave me terrific lighting for some of these pictures. And I still lug around my ten pound point-and-shoot. For something this large, I might as well go SLR. Each of the dishes I had were thoughtfully conceived and most were outstanding hits. I questioned the execution of a few, such as the cochon and the pork belly. A little too long under the salamander here, a little heavy handed on the salt there. Perhaps their dinner would be completely free from these relatively minor blemishes. I'll be sure to tell you when I return.

Eleven Madison Park
elevenmadisonpark.com
11 Madison Avenue, Madison Square Park, 10010
(212) 889-0905

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Too Bad Hot Isn't a Synonym for Spicy in Chinese: Boiling Point in Monterey Park (沸點臭臭鍋)

It's really a shame that I don't make the trek out to San Gabriel Valley (SGV) for Chinese food more often. I'm constantly complaining about the Chinese offerings on the Westside, but it's hard for me to find opportunities to travel East. In my mind, Chinese is always best enjoyed communally; at a dinner for two, there isn't enough variety. That's why I cherish my trips back to the Bay Area for a chance to see my family and eat Chinese. Additionally, my Chinese is too pathetic to order anything interesting, so I've been reluctant to climb into a restaurant that caters to the ethnic Chinese. In one embarrassing incident, my Mandarin was so terrible that the woman thought I was speaking Cantonese and gave me a chicken leg instead of a pork chop. It took a Korean, Christine, to show me a hot pot restaurant in SGV. Can I get some love from any other American Born Chinese who can't read menus?

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We came on Tuesday for their hot pot lunch special. What was normally $9.99 was discounted a dollar and supplemented with a free drink. While Christine insisted on the available garlic sauce, spicy bean paste, and spicy oil, I was perfectly content with the seasonings that came in the pot.

In fact, I questioned whether it's healthy to ingest something so dark red. Christine would call me a complainer, but her idea of "complaints" are more of what I consider "observations" for my health.

Each person receives a personal pot loaded with ingredients. Pork intestines, tomato, fish cake, napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, sliced pork, fish balls, floated in the crimson soup. Below those treasures, I excavated blocks of stinky tofu (臭豆腐). This was the first time I encountered stinky tofu hot pot. It's amazing what you miss out on when you don't explore this culinary cornucopia called LA. As the name would imply, stinky tofu is rather robust in fragrance. The smell is fairly strong, but the taste is much more mild. It takes tofu to a whole new level in my opinion, since tofu is normally so bland.

I ordered the spicy pot, and it was just at the level of enjoyable for me. A milder one wouldn't have had enough flavor, but anything hotter would've been unbearable. I believe that pork intestines are best enjoyed in preparations like this--simmering in a spicy broth. Overall, I had a great lunch, but I wonder now if I'll experience any regrets the next day.

Boiling Point (沸點臭臭鍋)
153 Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, 91755
(626) 288-9876
$8.99 lunch special

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Comme quoi? Comme ça, bien sur

Comme ça
(323) 782-1178
8479 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90069
$25 for lunch

Pardonnez mon Français. I had to get my brother to translate it and he only took a year of French. I tried to say "Like what? Like that, of course." Comme ça is David Myers' French brasserie on Melrose. It's a more casual take on the dining experience compared to Sona, Myers' other restaurant.

The atmosphere was ethereal and tranquil. It was restrained and dignified but not pretentious. Natural lighting against a stark black and white motif and defined stripes just appealed to me. The waiters dressed stylishly, individually unique but similar enough for a sense of uniformity. I just felt at home in the restaurant.

Marshal and Thi were treating me to a celebratory graduation lunch. That said, the prices were a little high for a normal lunch. Coming here would definitely be an event, not a casual meal. The bread came out warm and so delicious that it is worth a trip in itself. Thi speculated that it came from Myers' bakery Boule, but wherever it was from, we helped ourself to a second loaf. Even carb-phobic Marshal had a fill of it. Marshal's entree was the beef tartare, a good balance of savory and tart. It was not as good as Fraiche's tartare, but still delicious on its own right. Thi's braised beef paleron sandwich was too salty, but plenty hearty.


Duck confit

Since I've only recently started eating French food consistently, I had wanted to try duck confit. I ordered it for lunch and was somewhat disappointed. From what I understand, it was done well, the skin was crisp and the meat flavorful, but it lacked the buttery smoothness I expected. I don't know if I just don't like confit or if Comme ça just didn't do it as well as I hoped. The red cabbage and red wine over spatzle was a little bitter and didn't help balance the duck well enough.


Comme ça cake

Dessert was a visual treat as much as a taste sensation. This is the Comme ça cake, designed by Myers' wife who is the pastry chef. Sure, it doesn't look like a cake, in fact it looks more like a turtle. But that's just the smooth chocolate coating made of the blackest chocolate I've ever seen. Once i broke through that ebony exterior, the moist cake was delicate in flavor and not too sweet. All too often a perfectly fine dessert has been ruined by an over-zealous addition of sugar, but this cake understood balance in flavors. The green mound is pistachio ice cream with bits of crushed pistachios spread over the top. Thi said she tasted a little tea mixed into the cake; I agree that it definitely had something special. Whatever it was, this was not your typical chocolate cake.

All in all, I had a great time here. We even got a quick glance at Myers who came through the front door halfway through our meal. He sported a pony-tail and shades making him look like a rockstar. But I guess that's how celebrity chefs are treated nowadays. In the back, a vendor was trying to sell the bartender absinthe, so possibly look out for that in the future. I just need to work on my French pronunciation before I tackle my next French foodventure (pronounced Com Sa, by the way).

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Clementine

(310) 552-1080
1751 Ensley Avenue,
Century City, CA 90024

Adequately Fed: $10
Rare Roast Beef Sandwich***
Chocolate Chip Cookies*****
(Out of Five Stars)

This charming cafe off Santa Monica is a little difficult to get to and even more difficult to park. There's a small lot behind the restaurant, but the popularity makes this place crowded even in the late afternoon on a Monday. Clementine does know how to market themselves with self-branded cups and buttons. They are even conducting a grilled cheese mock campaign parodying the election year. Their "heat-at-home" entrees and sides and curbside pick-up make them an excellent take-out place as well.

It's nice to see truly rare roast beef. All too commonly, roast beef is overcooked and lacks that chewy texture and complexity of flavor. The popular rare roast beef sandwich at Clementine combines this tasty beef with marinated onions, arugula, and horesradish mustard dressing between a crusty rustic bread. The bread was so crusty that it tore the top of my mouth a little. But the sandwich itself was well-crafted. Unfortunately, the horseradish was too subtle and not prominent enough to add to the meat. The accompanying sweet pickles were a treat in itself though.

I do not bake at home precisely for the reason why the cookies here are so delicious. The chocolate chip cookies are so thin that the chocolate spreads out moist and melty to the point where I would hesitate to call them chips at all. Just a bite of the $1.50 cookie and I know how much butter has gone into its preparation. If I baked these myself, I would not be able to eat them with as clean a conscience.

I had issues with the slow service during my trip. After ordering at the counter, it took quite awhile for the food to come to the table. It is a rare sandwich after all; it should not take that long to prepare.

Recommendation: I think it is busy all the time, but maybe the curbside take-out service.

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