Leon's: A Legend Reborn

Leon's was apparently a New Haven landmark when I was just a twinkle in my mother's eye. Years after closing its doors on Howard Avenue (originally opened in 1938), it has found a new home on the Long Wharf waterfront. Though it's not listed on their website, my stylist tipped me off to the fact that Leon's has an elaborate Sunday brunch buffet for only $25/person, including tax, tip and your choice of brunch cocktail. So, though the day was overcast and a little chilly, James and I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Our reservations were for 11:00, and we were nearly the first ones there. A liveried waiter was putting the finishing touches on the coffee station and the buffets were still pristine. The restaurant has an old-school, understated elegance to it that I recognized from parts of Wooster Square; the wooden tables were fittingly simple, adorned only with crisp ivory napkins and basic white plates. After the hostess put us at a table for two in front of a full-length window overlooking the water, a waitress immediately came over to take our cocktail order (I went with a Mimosa and James had a Screwdriver). It's a good thing we got an early start, because we needed serious digestion time in between trips to the food stations.

While I'm not usually a huge buffet fan if only for the reason that I don't eat enough to make it worth my while, this one was something to marvel at. Hot items served on one side of the room included a manned omelet station; carving station; baked scrod with an olive sauce; a light pasta primavera; Chicken Cacciatore; Leon's trademark Panne Cotto and a breakfast selection of mini waffles; french toast; fresh fruit toppings; whipped cream; home fries; bacon & sausage and, of course, scrambled eggs. The cold selections were even more impressive, especially an artisan cheese display, jumbo shrimp cocktail and salads featuring various combinations of fresh salmon, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, pasta and vegetables.

As if that weren't enough to keep us munching for hours, there was an additional dessert and pastry display at the bar. Beyond the expected assortment of croissants, breads and jams, scones, mini-muffins and a delicious coffee cake that I suspect was made almost purely of butter, there were some more interesting fruit tarts and an array of cookies and cheesecakes that I just couldn't muster the appetite to sample. There was a surprise birthday party happening off the main dining room, and I sincerely hope that they had the good sense not to bring their own cake.

The ambiance would naturally have been aided by some sunlight, but even on a cloudy day, we were content to watch the sea birds bask and dive outside our window. Mystic, CT the New Haven waterfront is not, but there was a large ship coming into port and there is a brick area with benches and lights to have a rest in after chowing down inside. Provided that you're not expecting a bustling esplanade or Caribbean breeze, I'm sure that Leon's outdoor patio would be a pleasant and unique spot to have brunch al fresco (and we would have had weather permitted). That said, I was irked by a couple of minor things that may speak more to my own hang-ups than to the restaurant's failings: the music--top 40 of yesterday (I heard 90s Bon Jovi and Britney Spears)--didn't match the care that had gone into everything else. I could also have done without ESPN on the big screen in the bar, but James tells me that some people watch sports on Sundays. Who knew?

I wouldn't choose Leon's over the best of the smaller brunch spots in the area (Bella's in Westville or even Pond House in West Hartford), but what it does it does well. The service was prompt and attentive, the buffet was kept clean and God knows there was ample selection, and the water views are pleasant. Some of the things I sampled were really top notch, such as the Panne Cotto and a few of the salads, and the more run-of-the-mill breakfast items were still perfectly tasty. I'm glad that we went and I may well go back, but on most Sunday mornings, I'm just not quite hungry enough to make Leon's my go-to brunch choice.

The Pond House Cafe: Brunch in Full Bloom

The Pond House Cafe in West Hartford, CT would probably be booked solid on Sunday mornings even if the food were re-heated in a microwave and served on paper plates. Its bucolic location in Elizabeth Park makes it well worth a trip from New Haven (it only took us 45 minutes), particularly when the country's oldest municipal rose garden is in full bloom just steps from the restaurant's entrance. Fortunately for us, the gardens and duck pond are but a pleasant addition to a seriously awesome brunch menu.

By that I don't mean only that the entrees are well prepared, though ours were. The menu is designed around ideal (in my mind, at least) and surprisingly elusive breakfast-to-lunch and sweet-to-savory ratios. Before we had even tasted anything but the coffee, I was ready to give the place five stars for range of selection alone: omelets ran the gamut from an artichoke/red pepper/spinach/fresh chevre combo to an interesting mix of spinach, apple and brie. The Pond House manages an appealing balance of cute and gourmet in both atmosphere and cuisine, cozy and festive without making me wonder if I took a wrong turn straight into the "American Girl" store. One case in point is the pair of Benedict options, one traditional and one with a characteristic twist. The second ditches the English muffin and Canadian bacon in favor of a fluffy, trademark Pond House crab cake atop fresh cornbread, and both are served with a side of spicy roasted potatoes.

The classic, carb-fest brunch fare that I usually opt for also gets the Pond House cute-but-not-cutesy treatment. A pancake special was filled with strawberries and raspberries instead of the same old blue mush, and a stuffed french toast (with apple-ricotta and a brown sugar ginger sauce) had just been updated to a tropical version with cream cheese, pineapple, macadamias and toasted coconut with a side of caramelized banana. I was hesitant to order it for fear that the fruit would be overwhelming--there was pineapple in the bread and on top--but with an assurance from the waitress that it had been a hit so far I went for it. I was more than happy with my decision, particularly because the presentation was so fun: the french toast was two slices with the cream cheese filling in between, rather than one large piece of bread folded and pinned more messily.

More to the point, the plate it was served on has become one of my must-have household items. Unlike anything I had ever seen, it was a sleek, modern oval design (think kind of an upscale Ikea look) with a small dipping hole for the syrup and a lip to keep food from sliding down into it. The waitress tipped me off that it was by Rosenthal, a German porcelain maker. I haven't managed to track down the specific dish yet (pictured), but here is a link to the company's website: http://www.int.rosenthal.de/

If I had a single misgiving about the Pond House, it would be only that the plate was in a different league of design than the rest of the place. By that I mean only that the rugs, wall paneling and chairs could use some updating to match the quality of the food and service, but it's not surprising that this hasn't emerged as a major concern since the flowers would upstage any possible refurbishing.

So, though you may not have found sufficient reason to journey to Hartford before (New England's rising star though it is), the Pond House will be my excuse for at least a day trip each season. Stroll around the park, eat outside by the pond if weather permits, and bring a bottle of champagne to take advantage of the BYOW policy. The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and the Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe house museums are all under a ten-minute drive away, and if yuppies are more your style, West Hartford center is its own kind of upscale suburban shopping destination. Roses, french toast and "Five Centuries of European Masterworks,"--why not?

Heirloom at The Study: Great Space, Great Eggs.

After brunch, my other favorite hospitality industry "thing" is boutique hotels. Maybe it's because my parents made me stay at the Econo Lodge when I was growing up, and maybe it's because I have an unfounded fear that even the nicest chain hotels are more likely to host bed bugs, but I love the idea of roughly 100 or fewer rooms and a swank little restaurant all being personally overseen by someone I'd want to have drinks with in the hotel bar. So when The Study moved in only a block from my apartment (directly across from the Yale art school on Chapel Street), I felt like New Haven had finally come into its own as a city.

And as it turns out, the hotel's restaurant serves Sunday brunch. Heirloom occupies a great, wide open space on the hotel's ground floor that I've gone to for lunch and drinks, and I've been impressed with the service of both the head bartender (Rob!) and general manager (Val!). Val explained that, after many years working in Greenwich, he was trying to create something of comparable quality but greater accessibility in New Haven. Right--makes sense. When I suggested that the recently-abandoned $22 three-course-plus-a-cocktail brunch prix fixe might have been a good way to strike exactly that balance, he agreed and gave me a card for 25% off brunch the following Sunday.

We made our reservation for right when the restaurant opened at 11:30, and during the course of our meal there were only three other tables seated. Nonetheless, it didn't feel too empty, and hotel guests seemed to be trickling in as we were leaving. I expected that the food would be well-executed basics--no cutesy spins on waffles or monkey bread and no explosions of whipped cream--and that was about right. The menu included an Eggs Benedict option (listed as "How Do You Like It?" to which we replied "with salmon!"); a mix-and-match eggs/hash browns/breakfast meat ensemble; regular or blueberry pancakes and a "pastel" egg dish--two whites, one yolk and other ingredients to taste. Otherwise you were left with highlights from the lunch menu, including a lobster fried rice that I can recommend based on trying it during restaurant week.

While I understand that not everyone favors my "more breakfast than lunch" brunch formulation, where I felt the menu to fall short was in not matching the range of its starters to the range of its main dishes. I ordered the blueberry pancakes, and would have considered getting a starter or side to go with it. But tomato soup and clam chowder, however tasty, a fitting lead-in to a fruity carb fest do not make. Some kind of fruit assortment, warm brie, a sweet breakfast sausage (I'm a vegetarian, but you get my drift) or even a take on the hash browns that were featured elsewhere on the menu would have created a symmetry from course to course that was noticeably absent.

What we did order, though, was delicious and well-presented. James' smoked salmon Eggs Benedict (pictured), in particular, was impressively shaped: if you've tried to poach an egg recently, you'll know what I mean. The Hollandaise sauce wasn't overly thick or salty and the salmon was cooked *just* through and flaked perfectly. My blueberry pancakes excited me less because, well, there's only so much you can do with blueberry pancakes, but all three were large, fluffy and filled with many whole tiny blueberries rather than just mush. Both of our dishes were garnished with a half-strawberry and a single orange spiral. Though I felt I had reached my drink limit for the weekend and didn't order one, the cocktail options included a Mimosa, a Bloody Mary, an Irish coffee and one of my favorites--a Bellini! I'll take a Bellini over a Mimosa any day, and I was happy to see this under-represented little gem make an appearance so close to home.

It may not be cozy like The Pantry or bustling like Lena's, but Heirloom provides a worthy brunch alternative to, say, Sage on the waterfront or Scoozzi's jazz brunch up the street. The prices are reasonable for the type of restaurant that it is--$14 for the Benedict and $10 for the pancakes--and it gave me an excuse to ditch the yoga pants and flip-flops for something a little more upscale. And even if you don't obsess over boutique hotels as an idea, it's good for New Haven that one has arrived and we'd do well to support it so long as the food is on par with other options. And it is, and it's right downtown, so mix things up a little and ask for a seat by the window.

How To Throw An Engagement Brunch. (Or, At Least, How We Did.)

True, James and I got engaged months ago. But we only recently set our date, and decided it was as good a reason as any to throw ourselves a brunch. Figuring that our fairly large one-bedroom apartment could hold around 20 people comfortably, we sent out Evites to just over that number of family and close friends. (For anyone who doesn't use Evite already, you should.) Given our space constraints, extended family didn't make the cut, and instead this seemed like a good opportunity for our parents and siblings to mingle with what wedding party members and other future wedding guests were still in town. Rather than provide a long, rambling paragraph full of engagement brunch miscellany, here is a long, rambling step-by-step run-down of what we did:


1) I picked a "theme" of sorts based on what fruit was in season. The brunch was in mid-June, so I came up with a menu that featured fresh strawberries. We went to Bishop's Orchards in Guilford, CT on the day before the brunch and hand picked four pounds of berries for about $12 total. (Bishop's also has goats and llamas for visitors to feed, so really, I'll use any excuse to go there.) We made sure to get a mix of big AND small berries for different purposes: big for covering with chocolate, and smallish for floating in a champagne punch and skewering.

2) Menu design. I am a firm believer that brunch is more breakfast than lunch, and picked what to serve accordingly. In order to both play up the strawberry theme and get a little festive, we first decided on a "feature" dish: a big, beautiful fruit trifle. (Recipe link at the end of the post.) For the rest, I felt that things should be mainly finger/toothpick foods to keep it simple, since guests were already bringing: a quiche, fruit salad, lemon-cranberry scones, banana and zucchini bread, lavender-lemon cupcakes AND a tomato-basil strata. So without further ado, here's what we came up with on our end:

-Strawberry champagne punch and peach iced tea to drink.
-The Trifle: with strawberries, blueberries, lemon curd and a mascarpone cream.
-Various skewers: tomato-basil-prosciutto; just tomato/basil; fruit-and-cheese with three types of cheese and three types of fruit to each skewer (cheddar, jack and swiss cheese with small red grapes, strawberries, watermelon and cantaloupe). We accidentally bought bamboo skewers that were much too big and had to cut them in half, so stick to something smallish.
-Melon wrapped in prosciutto (cantaloupe or honeydew) and held together with colored toothpicks. I used both the big and small ends of our melon baller ($2.50 at Target!) and mixed up the arrangement.
-Chocolate-covered strawberries: dark chocolate, and dark chocolate with white chocolate tips.

3) Trader Joe's for (most of) the rest. Though I typically prefer other, non-chain grocery stores in the area (Nica's, Bishop's, Edge of the Woods) TJ's has great bulk specialty items. We picked up a hefty supply of prosciutto, mozzarella balls, assorted cheeses for skewering, melons, lemon curd for our trifle and melting chocolate for about $100. We also grabbed some frozen appetizers to keep on hand in case of an emergency shortage, because why not? Finally, at the liquor store we stocked up on rose champagne for the punch. We got three bottles for 20 people, and it was more than enough even with me drinking it like juice all afternoon.

4) Assembly. We had told everyone to come over at noon, and we wanted things to be fresh without having to wake up at 6:00 a.m. So, at around 7:00 p.m., we sat down for a long night of food preparation putting the fruit slicing off until the very end. The mascarpone cream for the trifle had to be whipped up beforehand anyway, we alternated between doing that and dipping/freezing the chocolate covered strawberries first. When we did get to assembling the fruit and cheese skewers, sometime around midnight, everything was immediately wrapped up and stacked in an extra-cold fridge. Since stuff was being served in large amounts over the course of an afternoon, I used multiple small plates rather than one big platter. That way there's room for more things on the table at once without overcrowding, and things stay wrapped up longer. Same for the iced tea: in addition to filling the big pitcher that we planned to serve it from, I filled multiple big Tupperware containers with it to have on hand for easy refills.

5) Layout. If you're a grad student living in an apartment like we are, chances are you don't have a giant dining room table either. So, we arranged one portion of each item at a time around the trifle centerpiece, and brought in a small bistro table to use as a drink station. The strawberry-champagne punch was the last thing we made in an effort to conserve precious carbonation, and we put it out in a punch bowl that matched our trifle dish. We went with clear plastic cups and paper plates even though I wanted to use real dishes (James thought I was crazy). In a gesture towards eco-friendliness and cost-savings, we brought in one of our potted flowers instead of buying fresh cut ones. I printed out simple menus and hung one on the wall behind each table, though in retrospect I wish I had put more effort into them--in true Martha Stewart style--or ditched them altogether.

And to wrap things up, here is the link to the trifle recipe we used substituting lemon curd for lime and adding a fresh mint garnish: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mixed-Berry-Tiramisu-with-Lime-Curd-353381

Hosting your own brunch is fun, brings your friends and family into one place, and most importantly, allows you to put off doing other things while tricking yourself into feeling productive. And if you don't feel like getting engaged just now, I'm sure you can think of another excuse to fete yourselves. Enjoy!

You Can Sleep in on Saturdays.

I love brunch. I love kir royales, mascarpone cheese, farm fresh eggs and real maple syrup. I love brunch with jazz, on the water, served at stations and with citrus garnish. I love brunch so much, in fact, that I'm having a brunch wedding.

Well aware that the world doesn't need another pretentious foodie blog, though, I have up until now kept my brunching tips and passions to myself. And really, how much could there possibly be to say about an omelet and some home fries? If you care enough to get out of bed each week, you probably already know where to go.

Or maybe not. After moving back to New Haven from an eight-month stay in Washington, D.C., I appreciate just how wide a range of brunch options we have for such a small city, and how few guides there are to turn to on our mornings of pre-caffeinated need. So, if my weekly investment in obscene amounts of french toast "research" saves even one fellow brunch enthusiast from an unfortunate run-in with a microwaved Dunkin' Donuts egg sandwich, this venture into the blogosphere is worth it.

Since my fondest and earliest brunch memories are of the elaborate affairs my grandmother used to throw (like so many things, the interest seems to have skipped a generation), I'll occasionally post on at-home brunching. And, since I don't confine myself to Connecticut, I'll also include info on brunch around the world (ok, so that's a little ambitious). More likely you'll get some recommendations every now and then for Boston, NYC and other spots along the East Coast, but the focus will be on the greater New Haven area since it's a niche that has gone unfilled.

So, check back every week or so for an update, and get to sleep at a reasonable hour on Saturday night to wake up and beat the brunch-hungry crowds.