M Wells

A restored diner in Long Island City kinda sitting in the middle of nowwhere though down the block from the Hunter's Point #7 station. This spot rocks. Some treasured booths at the window and very friendly service, this spot is only open for breakfast and lunch during the week for now. The owners who hail from Quebec have created a delectable menu and food to boot. Reasonable prices for the tone of the food- I loved it. I had the Crab, egg and potato hash with creamed corn and hollandaise which was $12. I watched the chef sprinkle some cracked pepper on my dish before serving and this was absolutely perfect. A wild strawberry shake created with frozen custard from Timmy O's in Corona and wild strawberries for $6 was super. I took a homemade chocolate chip cookie with walnuts for $1 to go and this cookie was firstrate. For my second foray to M Wells I had the tortilla espanola with smoked ham and green beans for $7. Cooked to perfection with a little olive oil and toasted baguette. In four trips to Spain, I have not tasted a more flavorfull tortilla Espanola. My chocolate, strawberry and banana shake(made to order) was bliss. A hot dog with sweet bacon chili and slaw is a bargain at $5 and the Quebec style buckwheat crepes at $4 sound super duper.
MUST GO!

Brooklyn Bowl

Brooklyn Bowl features food by the Blue Ribbon restaurant people and it is a draw to visit thes Billyburg bowling/performance space. Huge, and arty, with an uber cool vibe, we started with dinner in the smallish eating area sitting at a communal counter with stools. We started with the cornbread with local peach butter- crunchy, seasoned cornbread sticks with delish peach butter. Smoked barbecued wings were also super tasty. The much touted fried chicken plate for $17 stocked some dissappointing chicken. Not particularly seasoned or with substantial crunch the bird was boring. The sides of smoky collards with mashed potatoes with gravy were the better of what was on the plate. Service ranged from lacksadasical to plain snotty. Bowling for two plus a beer, egg cream and shoes was $59.98. Lanes are cool looking, but short in length.
Slow go!

Holland America Cruise

Holland America cruise to Bermuda leaves from Manhattan's Westside directly to Bermuda. My first cruise, food was at the top of my list of priorities and I was not dissappointed. The ship- "the Veendam" hosts a culinary center with free and pay for demos. I started the cruise with a tour of the huge kitchen. Huge and busy, with lots of pictures of the dishes served. A free demo of strudel making was also quite fun. The food was non-stop with four meals a day;
Breakfast- everything plus the kitchen sink including pancake of the day
Lunch- buffet, plus ice-cream sundaes that you make yourself
Tea- homemade scones plus chocolate breads was lovely
Dinner- classic continental with prime ribs as one of our faves
Desserts- Chef Armando the pastry chef made us very happy with chocolate souffle, strudels, baked alaska, and fantastic cheesecakes- chocolate/ strawberry was a fave.

Go if you can!

Cascabel

This popular authentic Mexican upper East Side spot should be called Decibel instead as it is so loud in there. Few tables and a confusing set-up- do you order by waitress or not leads you to this small restaurant with food modeled after markets of Mexico. The food is quite good and sophisticated though the dining experience is not. Gorditas with Berkshire pork belly are tasty as well as queso fundido with homemade chorizo. The corn with lime and white cheese was of good quality and lots of agua frescas to wash it all down. You can eat pretty well for around $20-$25 though, with so much good authentic Mex. around, I would head to others unless you live on the UES. 2nd. Ave. off 80th. Street.
Slowgo!