Our fourth New Haven Restaurant Week lunch brought us to Leon’s Restaurant,
which was located for several decades on Washington Avenue in New Haven and more recently on Whitney Avenue in the Spring Glen section of Hamden before vanishing from the local landscape. Its recent reemergence in the Rusty Scupper space (which its ownership reportedly had interest in some years before) on Long Wharf Drive was greeted with jubilation by many long-time fans of the venerable establishment.
My wife and I visited on a blustery day, enjoying the smell of the sea and the excuse to get some fresh air. Or at least I did, my wife waiting patiently with my camera bag while I dashed about outside snapping photos.
Circling the structure in a counterclockwise direction, I photographed a delivery truck from Fulton Fish Market with a striped bass painted on its flank,
the Quinnipiack schooner,
some cormorants poised on pylons,
Leon’s patio seating (for which the wind was too strong),
the public walkway that fronts the restaurant,
the small park space next to the restaurant,
and finally, this dramatic flyover ramp being built as part of the larger Quinnipiac Bridge project.
We were greeted warmly by Leon’s hostess,
and then led to our seats. My wife was in high spirits for another Restaurant Week lunch,
her availability to accompany me on evening outings usually compromised by her nighttime work. Our waiter, Yubi,
took great care of us throughout our meal. I was also pleased to run into ever-cheerful Kelly, whom I knew from her days at Salute’ in Milford.
I circulated throughout the restaurant taking photographs, and trying not to annoy people. I find about ninety-nine percent of the public very understanding of my mission. It’s usually in low light that the rare individual gets cranky, because my flash becomes more intrusive. Having arrived on the early end of lunch service, I was able to photograph Leon’s historical display,
Italian-themed artwork,
including these pieces to which ladies will have no access,
and bar area
before the restaurant got too busy.
A basket of nice Italian bread
and extra virgin olive oil with grated Parmesan
kept us happy while we studied a Restaurant Week menu with more temptations than we could possibly sample. From a selection of seven starters, we did not get to try an arugula salad with caramelized onion, goat cheese and candied walnut; artichokes with garlic, herbs and Pecorino-Romano cheese; nor Prince Edward Island mussels with chorizo, calamari and garlic. Fear not! We were more than thrilled with a vibrant gazpacho (chilled, of course, and slightly spiced),
a most satisfying puréed lentil soup with hearts of escarole and a garlic crouton (an interesting riff on escarole and bean),
Leon’s classic pane cotto or cooked bread (not to be confused with panna cotta or cooked cream), one of my favorite Italian dishes growing up and the best version of it I had ever had,
and most of all, the oysters Florentine.
Freshly shucked, egg battered and sautéed golden before being finished with wilted baby spinach and a butter-and-white-wine reduction, the oysters were an absolute revelation! The oysters were spectacularly plump and juicy, while the textures of egg and oyster were a perfect complement to one another.
Restaurant Weeks are not only great for exploring unfamiliar restaurants, but for giving familiar ones a second look. I had visited Leon’s once shortly after it opened, and found it unremarkable. Not this time! There were six main course offerings, including penne Bolognese and meatballs with ricotta and grated Pecorino-Romano; chicken cutlet sautéed golden with Panko crumbs, wilted spinach and fresh lemon; a wild mushroom risotto with wilted spinach and Pecorino-Romano; and steak frites with béarnaise sauce. But the two dishes we managed to try were an amazing slab of Boston day boat cod served with sautéed broccoli rabe, slivered garlic, hot cherry peppers and fresh herbs, the pristine fish falling away in giant flakes that melted in our mouths,
and incredibly flavorful veal cheeks braised in red wine and served with pancetta, cannellini beans, grape tomatoes and maitake mushrooms. Wow!
There were three dessert offerings in all. We passed up what was probably a very good tiramisù simply because we had already seen a lot of it during Restaurant Week. Although we weren’t sure what was in it, we just loved the mocha bonet pictured below.
Also very good was a strawberry rhubarb cobbler topped with a perfect biscuit crust and vanilla ice cream.
Our Restaurant Week lunch at Leon’s had turned into a review-worthy tour-de-force, with an intriguing mix of old school and new school Italian dishes. We couldn’t leave until we met chef-owner Edward E. Varipapa in order to congratulate him on his impressive Restaurant Week menu and convey to him how much we had enjoyed our wonderful meal.
Leon’s Restaurant, 501 Long Wharf Drive, New Haven, 203-562-5366