Sundays with Dad + Station LIC

This is my dad.

Before I told him to stop making his serious face.

At least it wasn't his duck face.

My dad likes to make duck lips when he poses for pictures.

I have no idea why.

Maybe it's his inner teen.

That's more like it, Dad!

My papa is a hoot.

And if you meet him, you'd think so, too.

When I was in college, all my friends loved him and when he came up to visit me, he'd take all my friends out.

That's probably why they loved him.

We'd go to Bertucci's in town and take over their long table because there'd be more than 10 of us.

Wow, I had a lot of friends back then.

Now I'm a hermit.

My dad, though, is not.

He's really sociable and charming and funny.

I think my sister got all those genes.

Dammit.

Anyway, my dad and I have been eating our way through Long Island City on Sundays.

So, over Labor Day Weekend, we went to Station LIC, a cool little bar restaurant that I'd gone to with my friends a couple of weeks before.

I enjoyed it so much that I decided to take my dad there.

The space is cozy and there are huge windows on two sides of the restaurant so that light, wonderful light streams in during the day time.

And, because the windows are treated, you get all that light without losing your privacy. I love it!

Fun fact: This bar is the same space where Tom Cruise's 1988 movie Cocktail was shot.

No Tom Cruise but the bar is just as enticing.

Now, onto the food!

My dad had the salmon on risotto:

Isn't it pretty?

I flirted with the idea of getting the Ponzi Burger again since it was so yummy the last time I had it with my friends:

But, I had a craving for something more decadent.

And, boy was it good.

The Cubano Mac n' Cheese is creamy, without being overpowering, and has chunks of pork and ham in it.

Yummmmm, is all I can say.

I asked my dad about his salmon.

He said it was good but the portion was too small.

Then he preceded to tell me how he went to Red Lobster with my aunt and cousin out in Long Island last week.

And, the salmon was bigger there.

Much better in his opinion.

Oh, Dad.

Bigger does not always mean better.

Well.

Anyway, during the outing with my friends, one of them had the Round Trip Chicken and another ordered the Chicken Pot Pie. Both gave me positive verdicts so I might just have to go back to Station to try them! I know I definitely want to try their brunch.

I enjoyed Station very much and I highly recommend it if you're ever in Long Island City. Just hop on the 7 train and get off at Vernon Blvd.-Jackson Ave. The restaurant is right next to the train station.

Literally.

My Mama and I Review M. Wells Dinette

My mama and I at a wedding.

So, my mom found out today that I have a blog.

I took The Mama out for brunchner (breakfast, lunch, and dinner - my mama likes to multi-task and what better way to multi-task than to eat lots of food and pretend you're eating for 3 meals?) at M. Wells Dinette to celebrate Mother's Day and ended up showing her a food blog that I follow while we were waiting for our food. When we got home, I proceeded to show my mom other blogs that I read and it sort of came out that I also write a blog.

Now, my mom wants to post on my blog too. So, there might be future recipes from The Mama.

Lucky ducks, my mom is a really good cook!

I can't wait to share some of her specialties. Because that means I get to eat them. Ha.

My mom is also picky about restaurants.

It was a miracle that she liked M. Wells Dinette.

I think we may even go back.

Double shocker.

And, maybe check out M. Wells Steakhouse.

M. Wells Dinette is located in MoMA PS1 so the decor is fittingly, a schoolroom.

You're seated at communal tables that face the kitchen.
Photo: Jesse Winter | MoMA PS1

My mom and I ordered two starters and an entree to share.

Bloody Mary, Chilled Parisian Squash Soup,
Braised Lamb and Gnocchi.

Drink: Bloody Mary
Janice: It's good, spicy, but not the best Bloody Mary that I've ever had; I like my Bloody Mary's really spicy. It's sufficient though.
The Mama: It was good.

Starter: Chilled Parisian Squash Soup
Janice: Mmm, I loved this soup. I don't know anything about squash or if there is something called Parisian Squash or if the name just means it was a squash made in the Parisian style, but I was expecting it to be orange. I guess I'm used to squash = butternut squash in restaurants. So, it was a pleasant surprise when the soup came out and it was green. It was drizzled with some cream (I'm guessing) and a herbally, slightly garlicky (I'm guessing), green oil that I think was supposed to enhance the taste of squash. Whatever it was, it was damn good. I would slurp buckets of this soup. Really, I would slurp it from a bucket.
The Mama: It was good.


Starter: Braised Lamb and Gnocchi
Janice: I normally don't like lamb because it tastes gamey to me but this lamb was delicious. It was served with um, herb stuff, and purple flowers. ALL you need to know is that it was good enough to make a lamb-disliker eat it.
The Mama: The lamb was fantastic, it was the best dish.

Can you tell my mom's favorite dish was the lamb? She might've hogged the plate a little.

Hot Smoked Mackerel.

Entree: Hot Smoked Mackerel
Janice: This originally was supposed to be a salmon dish but they ran out of salmon so mackerel was substituted. I'm not a huge fan of fish but ate this all up. There were fried thingies, who doesn't like fried thingies? Fried thingies makes everything better.
The Mama: Where's the rest of the fish?

My mom thought the portion of mackerel was too small. She liked the dish but thought it wasn't worth the price.

Braised Lamb and Gnocchi = Happy Mama.

And there you have it, The Mama and Janice's very professional opinions about M. Wells Dinette.