Schoolhouse Social

M. Wells Dinette

The P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center annex of MoMA in Long Island City has always been worth the short trek over to Queens, especially in the summer months for the Saturday summer ‘Warm Up’ parties – but now there is another, more delicious reason to brave the bridge across the East River: to score a seat in the new M. Wells Dinette. Formerly the famous though short-lived M. Wells Diner, which delighted critics and had New Yorkers queuing for hours out the diner-car door, but which sadly shuttered due to rent disputes a year after opening, the revamped and repackaged M. Wells Dinette now brings the same mom-and-pop vibe to the table, this time in a cafeteria-style museum setting.

The brainchild of Hugue Dufour and Sarah Obraitis, the Dinette is as unpretentious and untraditional as they come, where green chalkboards and communal, kitchen-facing classroom benches are reminiscent of the schoolhouse. The menu, however, is not the usual fare from your high school lunch lady. Instead, you’ve got some M. Wells signatures, like the Escargots and Bone Marrow and the Smoked Herring Caesar Salad, alongside newcomers like Beef Cheek Stroganoff and Blood Pudding, which have already become fan favourites. Another thing that hasn’t changed from the original M. Wells? The lines. Note the limited hours, and get there early.