New Leaf Restaurant & Cafe

If you've never been to The Cloisters (a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art) located in Upper Manhattan, it's time to make your way up there! An easy subway ride away (190th St stop on the "A"), the Cloisters houses an extensive collection of architecture elements from Medieval Europe. Given that the museum merits its own entry, today's focus is on an eco-friendly, lovely cottage-like establishment nestled in Fort Tyron Park, just a stroll from the museum.

Featured Restaurant: New Leaf Restaurant & Cafe
Rating: ♔♔♔♔

Executive Chef Scott Campbell (formerly of Le Cirque and Union Square Cafe), offers a $18.95 weekend brunch prix-fixe, including juice and coffee, and an extensive variety of entrees ranging from classic omelettes and German apple pancakes to duck confit hash and pappardelle bolognese.

The cozy ambiance and natural lighting fills the dining room with warmth, as tourists and locals sip on their coffee over table conversations. Our friendly waitress eagerly informed us that Dr. Ruth was sitting across the table from us. For those of you who don't know (I had no idea either), Dr. Ruth is quite the well-known sex therapist.

I had the Homemade pappardelle bolognese with smoked mozzarella, which was absolutely fantastic. The aroma of the mozzarella was infused in the pappardelle, which was cooked al dente, preserving a slight chewiness. Although pasta is not traditionally served for brunch, the yumminess was a pleasant surprise.

For our other entree, we took our waitress' suggestion and ordered the Duck confit hash with cheddar grits and field greens. This dish was quite good as well. The duck confit was generously portioned and complemented nicely by the soft hash and poached eggs. The cheddar grits were creamy but not overly so, while the field greens lacked a bit in flavor. Overall, we were delightfully surprised by the lightness of the dish (especially in comparison with the pappardelle).

For dessert, we shared the Warm brioche bread pudding with homemade rum raisin ice cream, which was OH SO GOOD! The bread pudding was moist, but not mushy, and the rum raisin ice cream added a nice kick to the dish.

To finish off (I know, I'm ridiculous), I got a hot Valrohna chocolate to go. I decided to be adventurous and chose the chipotle cinnamon flavor, which you have been forewarned, was extremely spicy. Imagine chewing on hot chile peppers while drinking hot chocolate at the same time. It was definitely an experience, as I sipped on it in both fear and delight on my subway ride home.

"Freshness is flavor - you want to get food on the table as soon as it's out of the ground." - Executive Chef Campbell

New Leaf Restaurant & Cafe

1 Margaret Corbin Dr

Fort Tryon Park
New York, NY 10034
(212) 568-5323