Last Sunday I had brunch at a place I’d been intrigued by for awhile. Some friends were organizing a brunch, and they had mentioned Five Leaves as an option. As soon as I heard that, I secretly hoped that it would be the final choice. And it was!
There was a long wait, but with good company. I guess a hungry belly would be the only thing sensing any urgency. We were seated and greeted by the friendly staff. That’s one thing I took note of the whole time. Despite the busyness of the whole place, the staff wasn’t rushing anyone at all or giving off any bad vibes. It’s funny because I’m realizing now that I was initially intrigued solely by pictures, not by raving reviews. However, when I got there that’s when I realized I was in for a real treat when strangers were even telling me that “no joke, everything here is great!”
Everything here was so inviting.
And they play vinyls for sound; that morning reggae seemed to fit the dj’s mood.
He flashed a smile after I snapped a picture.
I wonder if this place is as busy for breakfast on a weekday.
I noticed that it’s a nautically themed space, and the layout reminded me of the bow of a ship.
We thought we’d make things easier for our waiter by writing down our orders.
Their menu has so many great choices, and I highly recommend checking them out even if you’re not in the area–great inspirations. And if you are in the area then definitely find yourself a table there! Check out their menus over here.
A few in the group had ordered the brûléed grapefruit with house pickled ginger and fresh mint.
It was so delightful to look at when it came out, and seemed like something one could order and be content with simply that. I tried a bit of someone’s grapefruit, and it was equally delicious! Even the grapefruit-naysayer in the group had to give it a try after he heard everyone exclaiming over them. Still wasn’t up his alley, but that’s okay.
I ordered the chopped black kale salad with a special request of their house cured gravlax on the side.
The salad is basically kale chopped into fine ribbons, a spicy anchovy dressing, aged gouda, and hazelnuts. The hazelnuts brought the whole thing together. The gravlax was just my personal addition, and a delicious one at that. Can you tell I was in a savory mood?
Precisely split pancakes–you could swear they went through a table saw.
This was the ultra decadent plate of ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter, banana, blueberries, strawberries, and served with 100% pure maple syrup. Each pancake was the size of three regular pancakes uniting as one. Actually, this was like a cake made of pancakes and fruit topped off with a scoop of honeycomb butter. I was marveling at the syrup just flowing down the pancakes like a river, when I was told that it was actually the butter that was melting. Wow! How awesome is that? You can find breakfast fit for old royalty out in the BK.
I asked one of the feasters for a visual review.
Yep, definitely at a happy place.
It was such a lovely brunch.
Great conversation, great food, good laughs, noteworthy service, and… oh yeah, multiple rounds of Bloody Marys.
It seems that Fives Leaves is place where everyone seems to be in good company.
After brunch we walked around the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, and I just took in the “Sunday is a fun day” vibe.
Along with a gift made on the spot by a stranger.
That day felt like I was leaning back into a comfortable chair, and like any worries were a silly and unthinkable distance away.
Hope you’ve all enjoyed these past couple of days, and here’s a music video for your viewing and listening pleasure (I’ve been listening to this on full blast). Also, check out the Jenesequa app for our new summer issue full of great articles and a super fun editorial.
Take care!
Katharina-
….bright scarlet ribbons that burst into spring,
Gravlax is one of my favorite things!
A vendor at a farmers’ market yesterday gave me a branch of fresh dill after I had bought a cup of coffee from his daughter. I told him I would make Gravlax!
Jim
Another culinary alignment in our stars! Hope you enjoy it
-Katharina
p.s. made a healing soup today with kombu!
Katharina-
I like kombu.
Did you see that the tsunami debris may introduce kombu beds to the Pacific Northwest?
Are we being graded on the math problem at the end?
Jim
I’ve heard about that. I’ve been opting for seaweed found in the Atlantic, which is hard to come by. Even most organic seaweeds are graded as “organic” by a company in China.
Not sure. Most math problems have a right answer.
i want to go here! looks like rustic perfection! am in love with gravlax too, i made it before from an ina garten recipe
tonight i am grilling wild king salmon with fresh dill…splurged and bought the good stuff! i have a cedar plank soaking in water while i’m at work too 
cannot wait to go home for dinner already ha!
I think you would thoroughly enjoy it!!! Seriously, if (WHEN) you come to New York you should go there
aaaaand we should meet up at some point of your visit hehehe. Ooo wild king salmon is a wonderful splurge! I tend to be very picky about the taste of the various salmons and their preparation lol. I can imagine what’s awaiting you for dinner will be absolutely delicious though!
xo!
What a beautiful day you had. I love the very idea of Sundays. A day associated with rest and peace, often accompanied by companionship and brunch (arguably the best meal of all). You don’t have to be religious to declare a sabbath.
Agreed! Seriously, the whole day should feel like one relaxing massage
Katharina,
I wrote a bunch of stuff and then the verification code messed up haha..so let’s try again!
This place looks so amazing! The food, the atmosphere, the vinyl the play..and it really does remind me of the bow of a ship too. I love the rustic vibe. I also looked at the gallery on their website and I loved it but it made me start salivating and longing to just be there! The music you shared to was great – your Sunday rubbed off on the viewers too because I feel like worries should be far far away too – thank you shooga!
I spelled many things wrong – please forgive that. hehe
You are so sweet my dearest Emily!!! When you visit we will go on adventures, and find great places like this
I love you so so much <3
Big love!
That brunch place looks amazing! The atmosphere reminds me a lot of one of my favorite spots in S Minneapolis
Ooo which place in S Minneapolis does it remind you of? I’ll have to make a mental note for when I may drift that way