Almondine bakery, Park Slope

There's an adorable little French place tucked away in the first floor of one of those big brownstones on 9th street. Almondine has some little outdoor cafe seating set up sometimes, but if the weather isn't cooperating, there won't be any chairs or tables to give this place away. The door is under the stairs a few houses down from 7th avenue, so go look for it. This place is cash only, and apparently the second of two locations in Brooklyn (the other being in DUMBO,) and their website is a little rough.

Just inside the door under the stairs...

The display of pastries is impressive ranging from beautiful little fruit tarts to financiers and operas and all the other traditional creations you'd expect from a top tier dessert cart in those almost extinct white gloved French restaurants in the old black and white movies. Lucky for you, this place is in color.

Full Color foods

Other than the pastries, everything is super casual. Overstuffed couches and chairs are inviting from the back of the room, and little wooden chairs with tiny marble topped tables are spaced about the front. Food was served on plastic by a very sweet woman behind the counter, and if you parlez a little francaise, so does she.

We stopped in here on a humid and sunny morning, and the cool almost grotto-like feeling of this downstairs cafe was exactly the cure for the slightly uncomfortable weather. Iced coffee was flavorful and bright tasting. Probably not a cold-brew method like a lot of places here, but obviously a good quality bean.

Madeleines were big and cakey. Not super dense, but enough to hold together well, with a slight citrus flavor of lemon zest.

Mmm... Prousty

We finished with quiche. One of the three flavors of the day, a simple French ham and gruyere. I love a good quiche. I can be super picky about all kinds of things when it comes to quiche: the crust, of course, the egg custard, the fillings, etc.

Quiche aux jambon et fromage

This was love at first bite for me. The crust was a basic short paste, respectable but not the center of attention. The filling was perfect, more cream than egg, more custard than omelette. Rare, it seems, When lots of places are content to put what is basically a frittata in a frozen pie shell and call it a day. The ham was tasty but not too salty or smokey. Important so as not to overpower the delicate flavors of nutmeg and white pepper in the custard. This I the kind of quiche you'll eat cold, just because you don't want to wait another minute for the toaster oven to heat it up.

Bakery staples like baguettes and croissants were available as well, so even if you can't stay, there's some delicious things to take home, too. Try this little gem out.

-SdJ

Comfort at Hanoi

The storm changed our plans Sunday night, so my lovely companion and I instead went close to home for some comforting Vietnamese. Hanoi on 9th street above 7th avenue is one of our two main stops for Banh Mi, (the other being Hancos, for their frequent sandwich card and proximity to the subway.)

Tonight we both ordered Vietnamese iced coffees, and split the fried pork dumplings. The iced coffee here is the best kind of too-string instant mixed with sweetened condensed milk. (We've ordered it as delivery, though, and it was too milky.) Pork dumplings were crispy outside and meaty with scallions inside, but a little pink. Still delicious with the sweet soy and rice vinegar dipping sauce.

My lovely companion's usual, the grilled chicken Banh Mi, was too heavy in the spicy mayo this time, but in the past we've thought they nailed it. Shredded carrots, cucumber, and cilantro had a cooling effect on the medium-spicy sandwich. The grilled chicken here has a frozen-and-reheated texture, but lots of grill flavor.

Crispy pan-fried rice noodles with seafood were a new dish for me here, and with the extremely vague menu description, I was curious to see what it entailed.

Some kind of crab or lobster substitute was featured with scallops that had obviously been frozen and were chewy because of it.

The rest of the dish was pretty great though. Perfectly plump shrimp, crisp snap peas, bok choi and savoy cabbage. Carrots and baby corn were even firm and crunchy. The highlight was the salty and addictive broth that all of these were coated in and which soaked the crunchy rice noodles. We couldn't get enough of the noodles and cleaned the plate. A vegetarian version of this dish would be perfect, actually.

-SdJ

Grilled Chicken Banh Mi.

Fried Pork Dumplings

Hanoi

Crispy Pan Fried Noodles

Iced Coffee