Food, Friends, and the Day I turned 25

Dear Friends,

Can I say that you all rock?  You rock because you woke up early on a Sunday, and yes I know it was cruelly early at 10AM.  You rock because you left Manhattan behind and came all the way out to Long Island City.  You rock because you all let me have a bite of your dishes so I didn’t really have to decide what I wanted to have for my birthday brunch at M. Wells.

Alright, so 10AM is even early for me.  Thank you, roommate for treating me to a cup of ice latte from Stumptown at Ace Hotel.  It was a wonderful start for the day, hot and humid already at 9.30 in the morning.

I am glad that we didn’t have to wait too long for everyone to emerge from the subway.  I loved that we were soon seated and were all marveling at the most kitschy part of M. Wells, the Presidential sugar cups and the Coca Cola look alike cup.  I guess things are funnier earlier in the morning.

We had a few tasty bites of french fries and homemade biscuit and jam.  I think I was too busy with pictures and stuffing my face with the crispy fries to try the biscuits but you guys all loved it, right?  It certainly looked deliciously flaky and tender.

We polished off these quickly and it was a little annoying that they ran out of orange juice at 10.30AM in the morning.  But we didn’t have time to really think too much about it because out came our entrees.

My rich seafood cobbler brimming with cod and bechamel sauce topped with crispy biscuit…

An English muffin piled high with homemade sausage, soft scrambled eggs, jalapeno and melted cheddar cheese…

The best tortilla espanola I have ever tasted, simple as that…

A cubano sandwich filled with tender pork pieces…

A light and simple egg souffle flavored with umami mushroom broth, topped with bonito flakes fluttering from the heat…

A baked egg with tomato stew in a cute cast iron pot with a crusty baguette…

And the last entree, perhaps the best of the bunch: eggs and potatoes with ratatouille with hollandaise.  The flavor was deep and complex from various herbs and I can never say no to a runny egg yolk.

And thank you guys for picking the best banana cream pie to accompany the best caramel brownies to end the meal.  I pretty much wanted to only eat these for the rest of the day with another cup of Stumptown latte.

Seriously, one of the best birthday brunches: full of sun, laughter and delicious food.

Let’s do again next year!

Love,

Yijia

Stumptown | 20 West 29th Street, New York, NY | http://www.stumptowncoffee.com

M. Wells | 21-17 49th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101(718) 425-6917 | mwellsdiner.com