The couple behind M Wells recommend an oyster-lover’s paradise in Manhattan, a “dope” cocktail bar in Long Island City and an “insane” international supermarket
EATING OUT
Grand Central Oyster Bar
Grand Central Terminal, 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017; +1 212-490-6650, www.oysterbarny.com
“This is just our number one place. It’s huge but there are all these little pockets you can settle into. We’d definitely have oysters every time we go. Those guys are like machines; they don’t do precision-shucking but they usually have fantastic produce. We know where they get their oysters: they know what they’re doing.” – Sarah
Glasserie
95 Commercial St, Brooklyn, NY 11222; +1 718-389-0640, www.glasserienyc.com
“This is a very pretty place and a pretty awesome restaurant also. It’s our go-to in Greenpoint – we can walk right over the bridge to get there. They changed chefs recently and we were worried, but the food is still good. It’s Middle Eastern style using unusual spices and lots of yoghurts. They do a famous flat rabbit dish.” – Sarah
Manducatis Rustica
46-35 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101; +1 718-937-1312, www.manducatisrustica.com
“There’s a woman on our boulevard called Gianna; her parents own a very old-school Italian restaurant called Manducatis[footnote]At 13-27 Jackson Ave, just down the block. “It’s a real American red sauce joint,” says Hugue. “They have a crazy wine list, you can go and have all vintages of French stuff at old-school prices. And the food’s not that bad.” [/footnote] and she’s opened Manducatis Rustica. It’s a very large space and she’s got a little bit of an interior decorating bug – there are some crazy things going on – but it’s just good Italian food. Everything is very nicely done… we love it there.” – Sarah
Franny’s
348 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217; +1 718-230-0221, www.frannysbrooklyn.com
“I used to work at Franny’s in Brooklyn. They get a lot of love and they’re super-busy but I think people forget about them sometimes. They make beautiful food and great pizza.” – Sarah
Dutch Kills
27-24 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101; +1 718-383-2724, www.dutchkillsbar.com
“We sometimes we go here after work. It’s a pretty dope cocktail bar, you feel a little bit transformed when you go in.” – Sarah
Tørst
615 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222; +1 718-389-6034, www.torstnyc.com
“I go to Tørst,” says Aidan. “Just for beer, I’ve never eaten at Luksus[footnote]The Nordic-inspired restaurant in a small room behind the bar, run by chef Daniel Burns. It’s the only high-end restaurant we’ve been to that serves only beer with the food – a mistake, we thought, but the food is fantastic. [/footnote], but the bar food is really good.”
BUYING IN
Food Bazaar
42-02 Northern Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101; +1 347-448-8860, www.myfoodbazaar.com
“This place is insane; there’s nothing in the world like it. It’s a huge international supermarket, very diverse. There are, like, four aisles for Korean food, an entire department dedicated to salted cod. The prices are amazing too. So this is where we get a lot of our stuff – we’ll go a couple of times a month.” – Sarah
Madani Halal
10015 94th Ave, Ozone Park, NY 11416; +1 718-323-9732, www.madanihalal.com
“The guy who runs this company, Imran, is awesome. He has a slaughterhouse and sells to restaurants and to the community around Ramadan. And he sells boxes of meats to whoever wants it. He’s like, ‘This week I’ve got a half a leg of lamb and a cow’s foot or some goat’. We get fresh chicken blood from him too – where else would you get that? The chicken we’re cooking for lunch today, we got from him – Hugue carried it home last night with the head and the feet still on.” – Sarah
Buon Italia
Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011; +1 212-633-9090, www.buonitalia.com
“Chelsea Market is huge and very commercial now but they still have some really good smaller food retail shops like Buon Italia. It’s fantastic, you find lots of neat stuff over there. They sell really awesome fresh and imported Italian products: really funky gorgonzola, homemade pastas, weird Piedmontese specialties. They’ve got things that no one else is doing.” – Sarah
Brooklyn Grange farmers’ market
37-18 Northern Blvd, Astoria, NY 11101; +1 347-670-3660, www.brooklyngrangefarm.com (Open Saturdays from May to October)
“In Astoria there’s a building that caters to small producers: coffee roasters, mustard makers. On the roof there’s a really impressive farm called the Brooklyn Grange (they have another one in the Navy Yard in Brooklyn). It’s more of an educational thing – you can go visit the chickens and the bees – but they bring their stuff down to the lobby for a little farmers’ market on Saturdays. This summer we’re getting them to grow melons for us – come August we’ll serve them with the hams we’ve got hanging at the museum.” – Sarah
Hunter’s Point Wines & Spirits
47-07 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101; +1 718-472-9463, www.hunterspointwines.com
“This is a lovely shop nearby with a very nice man who’s been in business forever and knows his stuff. He also sells really weird designs of pottery.” – Sarah