Brooklyn Larder

Whenever a magazine publishes a guide like “The Best Unsung Food Shops,” as Time Out NY did recently, it begs the question of what other gems have been left out of the collective New York food consciousness. Brooklyn Larder, on the border of Park Slope and Prospect Heights, is one of the few specialty food shops in New York that succeeds with flying colors in several categories and across several cultures.

The cheese counter is tightly edited and wonderfully curated, with several interesting cheeses available every day as samples. We picked up a wedge of Irish Gubbeen cow’s milk cheese (first sampled at a Joy of Cheese tasting) and a rare American sheep’s milk “Magic Mountain” cheese from Woodcock Farm, VT.

On the shelves of specialty dry goods lining one wall, you can find everything from English mustard to artisanal dried pasta to piri-piri sauce to Zapp’s potato chips from Louisiana.

There’s also a take out counter with specialty sandwiches made to order. This $22 deal would be an easy way to put together a gourmet picnic date in Prospect Park.

Also behind the counter: whole legs of duck confit, which you can order to go. Brooklyn Larder doesn’t shy from lard: these are covered in fat, all the better to preserve them. This cheese and specialty shop feels like a little slice of Paris in New York – with Brooklyn’s multi-cultural appeal.

Brooklyn Larder
228 Flatbush Avenue, between Bergen Street and St. Mark’s Place
Brooklyn, NY
718-783-1250
bklynlarder.com