Bottom Line:  This must-visit restaurant has the brunch trifecta:  great food, service and ambiance. 

Tips:

• Go for a savory dish (you get a sweet surprise at the end of the meal)
  
• It's loud, so don't plan on having any deep convos
• Brussels sprouts!
• Don't be deterred by the wait outside, the service is efficient so tables turn over at a good rate
  

About:  I had first heard about Joseph Leonard as a great dinner spot, but, of course, I had to check out the brunch menu.  Nestled on the corner of Waverly and Stonewall Place/Christopher Street (a little confusing to find to be honest), is the white-washed walls of Joseph Leonard.  Overall, this was truly one of my all-time favorite brunch experiences in NYC, so read on to see why!

Food/Drink:  The succinct menu lists more wine/beverage options than food options, but the food menu is delicately prepared to offer a full - and delicious - meal with each order.  There is also a daily brunch special to consider (when I went, the special was a cheesesteak benedict... if I wasn't set on the omelet this would have been a no-brainer!)

Drinks:
There is a selection of interesting bloodies if that's your poison, including the "Bloody Caesar" which mixes vodka, clamato, sriracha, deep-friend bacon-wrapped brussels sprout (OMG!), radish-stuffed olive, and oyster.  If you're not that hard core (I'm certainly not), try the cold brew iced coffee which is strong, not watered down.  Unfortunately, with the iced coffee there are no free refills!

Food:
De-licious!  Really.  So fresh, filling and flavorful.  Regardless of what you order, you MUST get a side of the brussels sprouts with sriracha (unless your dish comes with it, even so, you will probably want more).  The brussels come shredded up with mystery sriracha seasoning that gives a little kick. 

• Omelet au courgette ($13):  Omelet with thinly sliced zucchini, parmesan sprinkled on top, alongside a small fresh green salad and toasted brioche.  Simple omelet with so much flavor!  The parmesan is an unexpected and unbelievable accent that brings the whole dish together.
  
• Egg sandwich with brussels sprouts ($12):  A twist on a classic egg & cheese, this sandwich is on a fresh croissant (that doesn't flake off into a million pieces when you take a bite).  A layer of fresh, fluffy eggs and a layer of manchego cheese (optional bacon for $2) come inside the croissant, alongside a generous portion of the famous brussels sprouts.  
• Sweet ending surprise:  After our delicious brunch, I told my friend that I really wanted something sweet to cap the meal.  Usually at least someone at the table orders a sweet brunch item, but today there were only two of us, and we both opted for eggs.  No joke, two minutes later the bill came, sitting beneath two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!  If the brussels and the service didn't win me over, these two little sweet surprises did the trick.  What a nice touch!

Atmosphere:  The restaurant itself is small, but they make good use of the bi-level layout.  There is a bar in the center that you can sit at to enjoy your meal, but there are also tables on the main level and then on the 'upper' level (just a few steps up that peer into the kitchen).  The service is great - patient, friendly, helpful - and the overall atmosphere is trendy, and upscale without a hint of pretentiousness.  The one drawback is that the restaurant is extremely loud!  So don't go planning on having a deep, long conversation.

Joseph Leonard:  170 Waverly Place, 646.429.8383
Opens for brunch Saturday and Sunday at 10:30AM

About:  Garage is one of the best places to go for live jazz, right in the heart of Greenwich Village.  In addition to nightly performances, they have a band playing every Saturday and Sunday to spice up your brunch from 11:30AM - 3:30PM. 

Food:  The diverse menu has a mix of breakfasty and lunchy items as part of a great special.  For $16.95 you get an entree and a cocktail, and for $6 more you get unlimited cocktails!  Also, the huge portions will keep you nibbling throughout the jazz performance!

I'm showing the dessert first because it was sooo good!  This was a special on the day we went, glazed donuts filled with vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, raspberry sauce, a strawberry and a cookie!  Similar to Holey Cream in Hell's Kitchen, with a more gourmet twist, this donut ice cream sandwich was out of this world!  One order was enough for a table of nine (nobody felt guilty having a couple of bites).

Most of us got egg dishes and overall we were very pleased with our brunch.  The omelets are huge and come with a nice assortment of extras including a mini watermelon slice and orange slice to cleanse the palate.  The one negative of the entire meal from a food perspective was the potato scoop.  Our table was fifty-fifty about it, and I was on the 'not a fan' side.  it comes as a mashed potato scoop that has pieces of potato skin and something like bread crumbs inside.  Not a traditional breakfast potato and I didn't really know what to do with it. 

Aside from the potato ... thing... the omelets were spectacular:

• Caprese omelet: with diced beefsteak tomatoes, fresh basil and grated mozzarella.  Flavorful and garden-fresh.  The fresh taste makes you feel like you are in the Italian countryside! Definitely a favorite dish at Garage.
• Bacon and cheese omelet:  with applewood smoked bacon and Vermont cheddar cheese.  This omelet was delicious!  There were quite a bit of full pieces of bacon in this omelet (not little cut up bits like you may find elsewhere).  The white cheddar was very tasty as well and was a good complement to the bacon.
• Farmer's market omelet:  eggs filled with fresh roasted zucchini, tomatoes, asparagus, eggplant, and yellow squash tossed with goat cheese.  (We didn't have it with the goat cheese).  Pretty standard veggie omelet with some more exotic veggies that you don't normally see in an omelet.
• Spinach and mushroom omelet: with fresh spinach, cremini mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and a slice of brie.  The brie adds an interesting twist to a traditional omelet and literally melts in your mouth.  The sun-dried tomatoes also added a nice flavor to the great mix of ingredients.
  

The non-omelet items were also winners at Garage:

• Garage Benedict:  One of the restaurant's specialty benedicts, the Garage Benedict has lightly poached farm fresh eggs with Nova Scotia smoked salmon, asparagus and homemade hollandaise.  ($3 additional to the $16.95 brunch special).  This was a favorite dish at Garage, and the salmon was described as "delicately scrumptious".  the eggs were very tasty and the whole dish was awesome.
  
• Garage chicken cobb salad:  A standard cobb salad with the nice surprise of having a healthier greens (spinach) mixed into the salad.  The applewood bacon was divine and went well with the tarragon ginger dressing.  Other dressings are available as well, but the tarragon was delicious.  The salad is giant and a great pick if you are looking for more of a lunch-brunch. ($2 additional to the $16.95 brunch special).
  

Drinks:  As part of the $16.95 brunch special, a bloody Mary, screwdriver, mimosa, or juice is included with your entree.  For an additional $6, you can get unlimited drinks for one hour.  Note:  everyone at your table must participate in order to get the bottomless special.

The bloodies were not too salty or strong, they had a good spicy kick with a lot of black pepper at the bottom.

The screwdrivers and mimosas were pretty standard.

Coffee is not included in your brunch special.

Atmosphere:  A bi-level brunch spot with a lot of open space.  There is a big bar that you can sit at, or you can sit in the main dining room or upstairs overlooking the customers and the band.  The jazz band is lovely and definitely created a nice soundtrack to our meal, but it was a bit too loud and was hard to hear the people at our table.  So while it is a fun activity for groups, don't expect to enjoy a deep conversation here!

The band is also in a little corner of the restaurant so it is a bit hard to see them perform from the upstairs seating.

The service was decent, it seemed like our waiter was handling too many tables at once as he didn't give us all that much attention.  But he was polite and efficient.  Overall, a nice casual atmosphere, great for music enthusiasts or couples who want to experience a unique brunch activity.

More photos:

About:  Walking down Seventh Ave, you will definitely notice Agave and all of its outdoor space.  You can't miss the waiters carrying trays full of 7 or 8 frozen margaritas to patiently waiting young professionals as they peruse the menu of Mexican/Southwestern specialties.  It is worth coming in, taking advantage of the special, and enjoying the attentive service and casual environment. 

Food/Drinks:  $24.95 gets you any egg item with a two hour bottomless choice of mimosa, wine or frozen margarita, but the brunch special isn't mandatory.  While not shared on the menu, egg dishes may be ordered without the drink special for just over $13.

The French toast came with two pieces so we were able to share it as dessert amongst the three of us.  Tasted. Like. Donuts.  So yummy and fresh!  And the berries were a perfect topping (barely needed the syrup!).

The energy scramble was a winner - who says brunch can't be healthy?  An egg white scramble mixed with veggies and a side of fresh fruit makes the perfect meal to get you pumped for your afternoon workout.  It did have a bit of a buttery/greasiness to it, but not to the extent that I had a problem with it.  It just could have been a bit drier for my taste.

The southwestern eggs Benedict was very fluffy, the hollandaise sauce was also a bit buttery, but in a good way.  Don't be fooled by the "chipotle hollandaise" on the menu - the dish wasn't spicy at all.

The huevos rancheros were inhaled, plate just about licked clean.  The meat was tender and soft, not too chewy.  And the guacamole was amazing.  Not a huge fan of the sour cream, couldn't quite place the taste so if you are on the fence about sour cream, get it on the side.

One note:  steer clear of the iced coffee - not sure if it was our pot but it just tasted bad.  The hot coffee was great!

Atmosphere:  This place is huge.  You wouldn't know from walking by, but aside from the two outdoor areas, the 'enclosed porch' area, and the bar area, there is also a dining room and a separate tequila room that can be used for private parties or large groups.  The Southwestern decor isn't overdone, and it is actually quite beautiful.  Beware - if you go to the restroom, you may need a flashlight.  It is so dark by the stairs that lead you downstairs that it is hard to see where you're going!

Overall, it is a trendy spot in the Village that caters to groups and couples alike (lots of groups though).  The outdoor seating areas (2) are nice and there are a few tables where you sit on benches with comfy cushions while resting under the shade of an over-sized umbrella.

Agave:  140 Seventh Ave (between Charles and West 10th), 212.989.2100
Brunch:  11AM - 3PM