BKLYN Larder

I went here to do some sightseeing last week, with the understanding that I would be either vexed by another self-congratulatory array of local/sustainable/artisanal goods or spend a million dollars on said items. I was sent by the Franny's menu, along with a host of other food-writeries and one friend bearing Larder gelato to a dinner party. Of course, upon entering I saw many of the usual BKLYN things I see in Union Market, Foragers and the boutiquey shops along Smith Street, but the charcuterie deli and the cheese counter seriously blow away the competition. I picked up a Mast Brothers chocolate bar, which I have been hunting ever since E showed me her collection of designer wrappers; it is, she claims, a chocolate bar fully worth its spendy price tag. Ok, $8 Fleur de Sel dark chocolate: show me what you got. Then I meandered over to the cheese, just to peruse. The pink-haired punky girl behind the cheese waylaid me with a sample of aged gouda, which enticed me into conservation. She convinced me of the merits of early spring goat's cheeses and before I knew it I was at the counter with a little round of Lazy Lady Valencay next to my chocolate bar. "Just the cheese and chocolate?" asked the tattooed counter chick. Sheepishly, I looked up at the breads behind her and the glass boxes full of pastries and the chalkboard menu of interesting sandwich combinations. "Yeah, just this. That's not so weird, is it?" I guess I'll have to come back for some more of this stuff, though, when I get a little money saved up.