I had been wanting to try Fives Leaves for a long time but was always afraid of the crowds and thought that it might be too painfully hipster for me. Well, there were crowds of people and there were hipsters, but it was still amazingly delicious. It was well worth the throngs of people and even the cold of sitting outside (more on that later).
I thought that by going at 11AM, Jenn, Eric and I would be safe but the place was jammed packed inside and outside (it was 40 degrees outside) and spilling out into the streets. Luckily, the hostess said that if we wanted to sit outside, there was 1 table left, otherwise it was a 30-40 min wait. We decided to take our chances and sit outside - unfortunately they didn't have any heat lamps to keep their customers warm, so we sat bundled up in our puffy coats and scarves to stay warm. The menu is an eclectic mix of breakfast and lunch food - they had pancakes, scrambles, and oatmeal as well as arctic char, steam mussels, pot pie and their famous burger. Everything sounded mouth watering. Since it was before noon, I opted for an egg dish and got the Moroccan Scramble ($13) as did Eric and Jenn got the Ricotta Pancakes ($13) and we split an order of truffle fries ($8). Since it was cold outside we decided to warm up with a mug of hot buttered rum which indeed very buttery and rum-y.
I was super excited when the food came out so that it could warm me up. The Moroccan Scramble looked amazing - merguez sausage, scrambled eggs with spiced chickpeas, crushed avocado all on top of a piece of grilled sourdough and then topped with tons of cilantro. Yum! It was a very hearty dish and I loved the flavor of the spicy chickpeas with the avocado and eggs. I actually didn't think the dish really needed the sourdough bread at all - the eggs, sausage and avocado were enough on its own. But it was easily one of the most innovative and tastiest brunch dishes that I've had in a really long time. What really put things over the edge for me was the truffle fries. This stuff is some serious crack-like addictive shit. They were perfectly crispy fries with the right hint of truffle oil on them. Truffle flavoring is incredibly strong and it's easily over used but it was just right here. I'm glad we split them for the table because otherwise, I could have easily inhaled the entire order of them and that would be bad for my health. I also had a bite of Jenn's pancakes and they were incredibly delicious - albeit a heavy breakfast dish. It was 3 huge stacks and served with a giant dollop of honey butter and pieces of banana, blueberries and strawberries sprinkled on top of it. It was a very decadent dish but the quintessential breakfast pancake dish.
All in all, I really loved everything about this place except for the sitting in the cold and the slightly slow service. The inside is tiny so I can only imagine how long the waits are once it's impossible to sit outside anymore. However, they do open at 8AM, so if you are a morning person, run don't walk here but even if you have to wait, it's worth doing so. Total bill: $38/pp with tax and tip.
Photo Credit: Yelp
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