Beyond Manhattan Blog
Five Leaves
18 Bedford Ave
(between Lorimer St & Nassau Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Moroccan Scramble
Ever since Throwdown with Bobby Flay, the lower east side’s storied Clinton Street Baking Company has become impossible to get into. Two-hour-waits, and if you’re lucky you won’t be told the kitchen is closed when you reach the front of the line.
Let Manhattanites and tourists fight-it-out for a cramped booth at the Baking Company. Hop on the L train and hit up Five Leaves instead. Different brunch joints have different…flavors, and Five Leaves is not just a steak-and-eggs joint (though if that’s what you’re craving you’ll find something to suit you), but we dare say it’s the most memorable brunch joint in all five boroughs, Clinton Street Baking Company included.
Ricotta Pancakes
There are certain categories of meals that you eat to “fuel up”, then there are other meals that are more like sensory hedonism, and you can find both types at Five Leaves. The hamburger topped with a fried egg is a solid and delicious meal that will leave you ready to work in a coal mine, help a buddy move a baby grand piano up three flights of stairs, hunt and butcher walrus, or any other calorically-demanding activity.
But while the wait times here aren’t epic, they do range from 25-45 minutes (we recommend putting your name on the list, then strolling across the street to beautiful McCarren Park), and by the time you do score a table, you probably want to order something you couldn’t find at Applebees. That’s why we recommend the Moroccan Scramble and Ricotta Pancakes. Just do it. If you were on a diet you wouldn’t have walked in the door in the first place. The former is a surprising and playful take on the omelet, with paper-thin, custardy scrambled egg oozing down the side of a mountain of chickpeas and garnished with Parsley and shaved peppers.
The latter – ricotta pancakes – is pure childhood bliss. Fluffy, creamy, sweet-but-not-too-sweet.
Have the scramble and the pancakes, shotgun a coffee, tip the gentleman, and shamble out the door to walk off the food DTs.
How to Get There
We’ve included this with the Williamsburg adventure even though it’s technically in Greenpoint, and about a ten minute walk from the Bedford Avenue L train. Walk north on Bedford from 7th Street to McCarren Park, and continue along Bedford to the Park’s far side. The walk back across the park will feel great after you’ve consumed your weight in pancakes.
Astute observers will notice a subway station much closer to Five Leaves – the Nassau Street G train. This is a possibility as well but be warned, it requires taking the L to Lorimer (second stop in Brooklyn), and transferring to a “queens bound” G train, then taking it one stop. It’s often less hassle to just walk from the aforementioned Bedford Ave L stop (the one pictured in the map), especially of the weather is nice.
