As a dutiful New Yorker, might we suggest adding “explore more of my fair city” to your list of New Year’s resolutions?
You’ll be glad you did – because New York’s hottest new restaurant isn’t in trendy Tribeca or even the jauntily scarved streets of Williamsburg. It’s in an old auto body shop in Long Island City.
It’s M. Wells Steakhouse, the latest from the celebrated M. Wells team. Here’s our guide to making it the centerpiece of a date night journey slightly off the beaten path:
Step One: Some Culture
Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image is a delightful cross between traditional learning exhibition and trip to the movies. Dub your own dialogue over famous films, play an arcade full of “indie” video games or catch screenings like tomorrow night’s Raze, in which a bevy of buff chicks fight to the death in a mysterious prison. (Hell yes you should watch the trailer.)
36-01 35th Ave.
b/t 36th and 37th St.
(718) 777-6888
Step Two: Fish Tanks and Bone Marrow
Just down the road is the aforementioned M. Wells meat palace – a retrofitted garage with an open kitchen and concrete trout tank (yes, seriously) where they’re kicking out culinary jams like foie gras-stuffed gnocchi, buttery, grass-fed “cowboy steak” and their already-famous “bone-in burger.” Decadent, yes – but you didn’t come all the way to Queens for kale chips.
43-15 Crescent St.
b/t 43rd Ave. and 44th Rd.
(718) 786-9060
Step Three: Nightcap
Once again, head south – just across the Pulaski bridge lies Achilles Heel, where you’ll enter what looks like a house on a sleepy Greenpoint street only to find a roaring fire and an über-cozy, candlelit cocktail den. Enjoy your praise.
180 West St.
b/t Green and Huron
(347) 987-3666
Burger photo credit: Jay Pascual
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