See how 6 Canadians took our cuisine abroad

M. Wells Dinette

The M. Wells diner was born out of circumstance. When Alma-born and Montreal-taught chef Hugue Dufour moved to Long Island City to be with his wife and business partner Sarah Obratis, he found himself living across the street from an old chrome dinner.

Although he was intending on moving away from the restaurant scene, the space and its black-coffee-cherry-pie Twin Peaks feel ended up sucking him right back in. As history shows, it was a massive success. When their lease was up, the MoMA PS1 museum swept in and moved them to their current classroom-inspired location.

The current M. Wells dinette kept a few bar stools from the original diner and decked itself out like an old-school classroom, showing the layers of its inspiration that makes it one of the main attractions to the still rarely-frequented neighbourhood.

The food, much like the space itself, brings the variety of its inspirations to the table. It’s a mix of traditional French, Québécois and American cuisines, but it’s more than that. Like the eclectic and ethnically diverse area it calls home, this overwhelmingly popular spot likes to mix it up and dares to change its menu as often as if it were an art exhibit across the hall.

You can get foie gras on maple oatmeal during the cold months, bolognaise oysters if they’re in the mood or Korean-inspired brunch if you wander to the M. Wells steakhouse. The one thing that is certain is that you will be enjoyably surprised by what somehow feels familiar.

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