Restaurant Review: Five Leaves

Five Leaves
18 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 383-5345


It is no wonder that Time Out New York recently named Five Leaves as one of the best new neighborhood restaurants. I, for one, am oh-so-tickled to have an indulgence like Five Leaves just 'round the bend from the Guernsey Garden of Greenpoint. For months, as the owners worked arduously to prepare their baby for birth, I walked by with my canine companion, wondering what dazzling flavors would await my taste buds. Finally, in the fall of last year, the love affair would begin. My relationship with Five Leaves began as a retreat at which to share a glass of wine and a snack with a girlfriend. We would sit at the bar, indluge in a glass of Cote du Rhone or Temperanillo, and gobble down a bowl of their truffle fries quicker than you can say hot new place in town. Soon, I began to sample more appetizers and entrees, the titillation continuing. Now, about six months after first sampling the Devils on Horseback (figs wrapped in bacon) and the Truffle Fries for the first time, I have sampled several breakfast, lunch, and dinner selections and declare them all climactic, and I don't meant the literary term. Here's a little poem I've created in their honor:

The steamed mussels in spicy coconut broth will take you away toThailand
Homemade ricotta gives new meaning to the phrase sweet and nasty
Swallowing the last bite will break your heart
Mixed baby greens are sweet simplicity
Beetroot ravioli with burn butter sage sauce are baby-oh-baby so tantalizingly tangy
Truffle fries could easily replace a significant other
Seasonal soups with rustic rolls warm the cockles
Organic chicken and beef burger binged on by beloved
Seem to carry him to another plane
Homemade granola and fresh fruit are a sweet sensation
Scrambled eggs on brioche beg for believers, but
Please no mayo

UH, YUM!

All of this verbal masturbation is to say that I could easily fritter away an afternoon sipping one of their cappuccinos and noshing on a roll or lazing away a winter evening drinking a glass of their temperanillo and nibbling on some fries.

My one criticism is this: Why oh why does a place that reflects such thoughtful commitment to food and taste only offer ONE VEGETARIAN ENTREE? Would it kill a restaurant to offer two options? And would it break your heart to step out of the pasta box and think of something more creative? I'm just sayin'! Other than this one critique, Five Leaves has my vote as a top notch addition to the hood.