If you want to brunch like a king, get your fancy bottom to Greenpoint. In warmer months you’ll probably think, is that bus stop? There is almost always a buzz of a crowd around the corner restaurant Five Leaves [18 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222]. There are some outdoor tables, and barely enough indoor tables…you’re always going to be sitting pretty close to your neighbors. I love the creative menu here, and I feel like there are genuinely healthy and tasty options with great ingredients. I am an absolute sucker for their avocado toast.
On grilled multigrain bread you’ll find creamy avocado, zingy green onions, the only radishes I have ever enjoyed, a bit of EVOO, some heat from paprika, and the acidity from a squeeze of lemon. Seriously, every flavor profile was hit – this is the perfect brunch dish. When you’re brunching with your best friend, you may learn a thing or two. She got a cup of steel cut oats, which was fine and normal, however I almost shrieked when she said she was ordering the bruleed grapefruit.
I have always believed that grapefruit is the devil. Too many times I have been deceived, believing a misplaced grapefruit to be an orange (darn you, grocery market trolls!), only to bite in to bitterness and tears. I was appalled at her…disturbed even, but somehow she swindled me into trying a bite. And somehow, the cooks at Five Leaves took the most devilish tart orb, and turned it into a thing of…dare I say, deliciousness? The sugar from the brulee helped quite a bit, as did the pickled ginger and fresh mint. I have to say I would order it myself, again and again!
I am not the type of person who loves going out to brunch every weekend. Honestly, 9/10 times I’d rather eat breakfast at home…but those special 1/10 occasions, I would eat at Five Leaves…every time!