Three meals at the same restaurant in one week? Something special is brewing on the corner of Bedford, Nassau and Lorimer, mere blocks from our place, and it's called Five Leaves. Known beyond the Greenpoint borders and the place the late Heath Ledger was a co-owner of, it boasts an already lived in vibe of Brooklyn hipness. Part of the immediate success was hype (celebrities were reported to be guests to a rather obnoxious sounding friends and family soft opening) and part is the interior, decorated by John McCormick who is also behind the similarly comfy and chic Moto.
Atmosphere is fine, but if the food doesn't match, who cares? On that front they are often great, but imperfect. They offer a burger Australian style with a fried egg, beets, and pineapple with a bun strong enough to mostly hold the delicious mess together. Ruby's first introduced me to this regional delicacy and I have to admit, they beat Five Leaves' version, but just barely.
For one breakfast I had a chocolate croissant from Soho bakery Ceci Cela, (which can never be bad) and a side of bacon, avocado and tomatoes. I think providing avocados and tomatoes as a side is brilliant. Jim's ricotta pancakes were also a success.
The next week, another breakfast, but unfortunately this time the newbie's inconsistencies were evident.?I ordered the sage egg sandwich which was pretty good with cheddar, sage and garlic alioli (making it a not so light breakfast) but a friend's order of the same dish had barely any eggs at all. The place was consistently filled with smoke, a result of totally burnt toast and bacon that we were served and it took a long time to get our meals.
Seems like some of the quirks need to be worked out still. But the good outweighs the bad for me right now and it's worth noting too that their coffee is excellent. Very strong, it made me feel like coffee is supposed to, suddenly more awake and aware without major bitterness.
The menu claims they serve oysters, but I've yet to see them on the menu but the prospect is beyond exciting. But even without the mollusk, it's packed every night and poor Lokal across the street has to watch and wonder where they went wrong.?In fact, it's almost too packed, making one feel very aware of the size of their butt sliding in and out of the booths. Mornings fair much better, as it seems that no one in the area is awake before 10.
With Jim and I now within walking distance for work lunch meet ups, we're lucky to have the neighborhood favorite, 
Even though French food evokes images of fanciness and 
After a bad night sleep and the slump that followed, I was starving by lunch time. I knew I wanted a sandwich, I knew I wanted something new. In a cursory search online, I found 
Hidden down a darkish mall alleyway off Bowery, 
Grilled onions, thick slices of pickles, mustard, extra lettuce and special sauce slathered on both buns?spelled yummy to me, but to the people at the clean but divey 
Throughout the past year of living in Greenpoint, I've always found the 
With random, unpredictable hours and 
Tired on New York fuggedaboutit rudeness? Want to spice things up with a little European haughty service, the kind that doesn't even want to look at your ugly American face? 