JL Far West - Joseph Leonard - 170 Waverly Place at Grove St.

A few disclaimers: Joseph Leonard's chef is a friend of a friend, he sent over a complimentary appetizer and, more importantly, he offered me a support-staff spot in his kitchen for "Cochon Sundays". JL is definitely a restaurant that you want to spend time in, particularly if you live in or near the West Village. It's small, cozy, and warm, but still hip, buzzing and friendly.  It's the Spotted Pig part deux, but focused on ensuring that you'll dine rather than just drink - there's no real drinking bar here and they'll move you out of seats at "le zinc" if you're not actually having a meal.  I plan to go next for brunch on a Sunday, to fuel myself before heading into the kitchen to help (probably just watch) the cochon preparation, for said Cochon Sundays.  Every Sunday, the chef prepares a pig, head to tail, in varying styles, depending on the part of the pig.  As the dishes and parts of the pig sell out, they are crossed off a chalk board in the dining room, which shows a pig in full and the various cuts of pork its body comprises.  It's a cute concept to generate demand and urgency of consumption.  I like everything about JL, and will head back there and encourage you to try it too, but I cannot lead you astray on the food: there are high points and low points. Lucky for me, one of the high points was my entree of baked and braised rabbit (yes, I ate a bunny) with sausage and fava beans.  The dish was flavored well, tender and moist and the meat explosion was balanced well by the starchy beans and some wilted greens.  Our appetizer of octopus and white bean salad, on the other hand, was disappointing, given the miniscule portion of octopus (this is one of the cheap fish, folks, be generous with it!) and the overcooked beans. And, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but our complimentary appetizer of bone marrow bruschetta was relatively flavorless, other than the well-oiled bread and smothering of capers.  I was unaware that bone marrow could actually be flavorless??  Nevertheless, chef McDuffee, who heralds from Thomas Keller's Bouchon, "gets it", seems to be fearless with food and understands service and vibe.  With a few tweaks here and there and some time to let JL hit its stride, my prediction is that this is one of the great spots in the City that hits that fine-tuned balance of extreme comfort and refined cuisine.  I'm going back.