Pete Wells Gives One Star to M. Wells Steakhouse in LIC

Pete Wells is pleased to see that Hugue Dufour and Sarah Obraitis are attempting to breathe life into the steakhouse genre at their new Long Island City restaurant. But the critic finds a mixed bag:

M. Wells Steakhouse needs some fixing itself. Discipline is not its strong suit, for better and for worse. It can lurch from magnificence to sloppiness, from inspired fever dreams to inarticulate notions that aren't ready to leave the kitchen. One thing that needs improvement is the steak. This isn't as fatal as you'd think, because when M. Wells Steakhouse succeeds, it does so in a deeply satisfying fashion, by feeding the lust in your gut for a meal that is not just a dinner but a feast.

He's also not a fan of the steaks, but Adam Platt likes the rest of the menu at M. Wells Steakhouse: "If you're in the market for a more righteous cut of meat, I suggest the bison instead of the predictably tough, metallic-tasting grass-fed cowboy steak, although neither of these is as satisfying as the non-steak entrées, like the trout au bleu, or the superb whole roasted chicken for two." Platt gives the restaurant two stars. [GS/NYM]

[Rotisserie Georgette by Krieger]
Daniel S. Meyer is a fan of Rotisserie Georgette. On the chicken for two: "Juicy breasts are topped with fat-tinged panko-mushroom stuffing; you could eat a pint, but will have to settle for a thin layer, supporting the seared foie gras perched on top of the bird. The humbler route is poulet roti ($24), an unadorned but equally succulent rotisserie half chicken with your choice of flavored jus. The simplest version is your best bet: earthy herbs de Provence and garlic. No frills, no regrets." Meyer gives the restaurant three stars out of five. [TONY]

[The Breslin by Krieger]
Ryan Sutton offers suggestions for where visitors should dine during Super Bowl weekend. He picks The Breslin for pub grub: "This is where April Bloomfield, a Brit who's become one of our country's finest chefs, serves what could be New York's best burger — it's made with lamb. Expect nose-to-tail awesomeness, from stinky beef-stilton pies, to seafood sausages, to swine trotters, to blood sausages...Sure, it's a pub, but it's also one of America's best restaurants." [Bloomberg]

[Dover by Krieger]
Alan Richman digs the food at Dover, the new Carroll Gardens restaurant from Joseph Ogrodnek and Walker Stern: "Dover has many virtues, most obviously a return to classic French cuisine, even if the bill of fare is not entirely French. It's not surprising to find such skilled cooking, inasmuch as both Ogrodnek and Stern worked at Alain Ducasse's restaurant at the Essex House." [GQ]

[Red Farm by Bess Adler]
Joshua David Stein gives four stars (out of five) to the new UWS location of Ed Schoenfeld and Joe Ng's Red Farm: "The dumplings, micron-thin and perfectly uniform in thickness, are mostly a matter of personnel, namely Yao and Mario, a pair of young Chinese men who make them in the back kitchen eight hours per day, six days per week. As for the meat, whether chicken, pork or steak, Mr. Ng performs an intricate dance based on Chinese and Western traditions in which it is soaked in a soy and fresh papaya marinade for 12 to 24 hours, then seared, cooled, grilled and finally served, velvety and subtly sweet, to a diner who eats it while talking about something else entirely or, not talking, eats it while surreptitiously checking his phone under the table." [The Observer]

[Empire Diner by Krieger]
THE ELSEWHERE: Gael Greene has a great time sampling Amanda Freitag's version of diner fare at Empire Diner, Hannah Goldfield thinks the hits outweigh the misses at Fung Tu, Stan Sagner digs the Jewish/Japanese fare at Shalom Japan, and Ligaya Mishan likes many of the dishes at Yun Nan Flavour Garden in Sunset Park.

[Bergen Hill by Krieger]
THE BLOGS: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt recommends the new location of Red Farm, Immaculate Infatuation's Chris Stang gives a 7.4 rating to Bergen Hill, The Food Doc has a pleasant meal at Ristorante Morini, Joe DiStefano offers a list of his favorite soups for winter, Eat Big Apple likes the food more than the reservation system at Perla, Goodies First tries a lot of dishes at M. Wells Steakhouse, Zachary Feldman pays a visit to Saul in the Brooklyn Museum, NYC Foodie is impressed by the Italian fare at Ai Fiori, and NY Journal has a solid meal at The Writing Room.

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