Quantum Leap Brunch

We recently sampled Quantum Leap’s brunch menu. Quantum leap is a mostly vegan, almost vegetarian (they serve fish) restaurant located at 226 Thompson Street in Manhattan.

Corn Pancakes Medley

There were so many tasty brunch options I had a tough time deciding what to get, but I finally went with the Corn Pancakes Medley. This came with one blue, one white, and one yellow pancake plus scrambled tofu and a choice of meat. Only the ham was vegan so I went with that. The pancakes were great. They were a good size and nice and fluffy. They even had corn niblets in them! The blue corn, while tasty, was my least favorite because it was more dense than the others. The yellow and white ones were divine- super soft and fluffy. I should mention I ordered a side of mixed berry compote to put on top instead of syrup. It was so delicious! The firm fruit and syrupy sweetness went well with the soft and slightly savory pancakes. The ham was a little scary looking as all veggie ham is apt to be but I was surprised to find that it tasted pretty good. (Still, I think next time I’ll sub hashbrowns for the meat.) The tofu scramble was delicious but it was reeeeeaaaallly salty. Almost too salty to eat and definitely too salty to finish. I don’t know if it’s usually that salty or if it was just a fluke. -Ev

The Vegan’s Choice

Not all of the brunch dishes are vegan at Quantum Leap, but I figured “The Vegan’s Choice” was a pretty safe bet. This dish consisted of scrambled tofu, hash browns, grilled veggies and whole wheat toast. The grilled veggies were just grilled veggies and the toast was just toast. Nothing exciting there. I could also say the hashbrowns were just hashbrowns, but I’m a big fan of hashbrowns, especially this kind, in which the potatoes and onions are shredded and fried into a solid, crispy sheet. So that was nice. What I was really looking forward to was the scrambled tofu but, as Ev said, it was overly salty. I’m convinced they had somebody new in the kitchen who messed up the recipe or something, because if something is too salty for me (I’m a total salt addict), then other people would find it downright inedible. Overall, I wasn’t wowed by this meal, but it was a lot of food for nine bucks and, assuming the tofu isn’t always that salty, I could imagine getting it again if I’m in the mood for a simple, hearty brunch. -Jim

The Bottom Line

Well, Quantum Leap is two for two! This was a biiiig and tasty meal. I was surprised at just how much food and the variety of food I got for a reasonable price ($9.75 plus $1.95 for the fruit). I definitely want to come back and try the buckwheat pancakes. -ev
Quantum Leap has a big brunch menu and I think a lot of it is vegan. It would be nice if they specified what was vegan right on the menu, and I think next time we get brunch here I’ll just ask our waitperson to list all the dishes that can be prepared vegan. If nothing else, the pancakes seemed to be popular and I’m happy knowing there’s a good place to get vegan pancakes in NYC. -Jim