Apparently this place is run by the Brickstore folks, and it shows in the beer list and wait que. Leon's is already immensely popular but I only found myself here for the first time this past weekend. And crowded it was. Fortunately for Kins and I, some of the tables are screwed into the floor and can only be occupied by two guests. Needless to say, we were seated immediately. I really liked the interior design of this place and while it was very crowded, it wasn't too noisy.
We started out with an order of pommes frites, which come with two (out of about a list of ten) complimentary dipping sauces. Sadly, this was a tough choice and I wish they gave the customer two more additional choices per order. The fries are very tasty with a great exterior crunchiness and interior puffiness that is ideal. Unfortunately, our order was over-salted. Both the sauces were lacking in the flavor and texture department, but I preferred the spicy mango catsup over the goat-cheese fondue. The fondue was not fondue-y at all; it was more grainy like Kraft Mac & Cheese.
For my main, I got the brisket sandwich with the side special of the night, duck-curry soup. The sandwich was served open-faced with tender brisket covered in peppercorn gravy and onion strings. The real star of the sandwich was the bread. It's a thick, crusty slice but is excellently chewy and it never got soggy through entire the course of the meal. I love peppercorn gravy, but it was used pretty sparingly. The onion strings were actually excellent - they were flavorful and firm, not like the soggy mess that is served at too many other places.
The duck-curry soup was tasty, but was a little too close to chicken soup. All the typical vegetables were present and the broth really didn't taste heavily enough of curry. There were only about three detectable pieces of duck in the cup as well.
Kins got the shrimp gyro and enjoyed it very much. She opted for the warm chickpea & cherry salad with basil, aged provolone, and red wine vinaigrette. Chickpeas are not my cup of tea but these, with the cherries (although we thought they were cranberries) were a tasty preparation of something I typically dislike.
All of the other sides, outside of the fries, are much healthier than what you will find at gastro-pubs. In fact, they were all salads. This is both a negative and a positive in my book. They have a great sandwich menu and most times, people want something starchy to go with the sammie besides the quintessential fries. However, I give them props because not only are they providing some healthier options to onion rings or mashed potatoes, but the salad Kins got was unique and actually tasted good!
So collectively, Leon's was a great success in my book. I'd go back for the sandwich and pomme frites alone and most of the other items sounded and looked tasty. If there actually is a guy named Leon behind this place, perhaps it is the genius from Midnight Madness who never reappeared after 1988's Riding Fast. Poor guy.
Sorry for the lack of pictures, but it was too dark to take photographs inside.
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