I was reading through FIPS yesterday and came across a story about a new bakery that had opened on 9th St, just off of 7th Ave, called Almondine. I was surprised to read about it, because I walk past that intersection every day and had never seen it. So on my way to work I decided to stop by and check it out. It’s no wonder I hadn’t noticed it before — I was standing where I thought it was looking around for about a minute before I realized I was standing right in front of it. The bakery is set back from the street and the sign isn’t very eye-catching. According to the man behind the counter they’ve been open for three months at this location (they have another location in DUMBO). The bakery has one case with sweets, and another with savories. The sandwiches and quiches looked good but I just wanted a snack, so in honor of the bakery’s name I got an almond croissant. It was quite good — crunchy and flaky outside, with a creamy, almost custard-like inside (and at $2.65 a relative bargain). I’ll definitely be back, if I can find the place again.

Almondine Bakery — 442 9th Street, Brooklyn

For pure research and to blog more for Drink To Blog, Matt, Phae and I went to a beer tasting at the Beer Table recently. The guest talker was Chris Munsey of Murray’s Cheese. You can read about the stout tasting here.

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One of the reasons it’s good to be friends with Donny is that he occasionally sends out emails like the one he sent out last month, inviting people on a bakery crawl through Brooklyn. Of course we only ended up going to two bakeries, but the fun of it was walking through Brooklyn, and we did eat a lot of good food.

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Provini, which is coming to 8th Ave & 13th St in Brooklyn (the space formerly occupied by Pumpkin’s Organic Market), has been in the process of opening for a while now. They recently put up their window signs — does this mean they’re opening sooner rather than later?

You may remember a few months ago I was lamenting the state of falafel here in NYC. One of my co-workers suggested Fatoosh, and I’m very glad that she did. They may advertise pizza (or “pitza” as they call it) on their sign, but the falafel is the real reason to go (shown here in a wrap). The falafel is wonderfully seasoned and crispy on the outside, just they way it should be. I wish they had a wider variety of “salads” to put on top, but falafel beggars in Park Slope can’t be choosers.

Fatoosh — 437 5th Ave, Brooklyn

So remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about a new Turkish restaurant coming to Park Slope? It opened a couple of weeks ago. Above you see the cold mixed appetizer plate ($8.50) — that’s the medium size (they offer only medium and large). It’s easily enough food for two people (I managed to put away 2/3 of it, and then the waiter asked me if I wanted to order an entree), and it’s served with a basket of warm bread. The hummus and babaganoush tasted generic, but the tabouli was fantastic and fresh tasting. Another highlight: the stuffed grape leaves, slightly sweet with raisins mixed into the rice. Also eaten (on other visits) but not pictured are the “fried” phyllo rolls stuffed with cheese, not crispy enough but with a wonderful lemon flavor. The felafel wrap ($7) was not as successful; it took almost 10 minutes to prepare, and although I asked for “no tomatoes” I got plenty of tomatoes in the wrap. The felafel themselves were highly spiced but under seasoned. Still, during a busy lunch service with my back to the open windows and the sun bearing down on me, I did experience a reminder of what it felt like when eating in one of Turkey’s open air cafes.

Istanbul Park — 293 7th Ave, Brooklyn