Eating In Translation

Villabate Pasticceria and Bakery

Wide range of decorative creations for that special event; even more options for snackers on the go. Perhaps three-quarters of the Villabate cookie collection feature almond in some guise or another; if you like licorice, try taking on this anise-studded number (top photo; $12.00 per pound).

From an earlier visit, an apricot-lined pastry (bottom photo; $2) was filled with a paste of butter, flour, and sugar, and sealed with apricot and pine nuts.

Villabate Pasticceria and Bakery
7117 18th Ave., Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
718-331-8430

Gino's Focacceria

The vastedda special ($5) — stuffed with cow spleen, clouds of ricotta, and grated parmesan — was certainly filling, and the textures hovered somewhere between engaging and perturbing, but it was dry, dry, dry. Not especially salty, just dry. Glad I had a 16-oz. soda close at hand.

Gino's Focacceria
7118 18th Ave., Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
718-232-9073

Pho Tay Ho

For a brunch outing, the pho dac biet ($4.95) filled this "combination special big bowl" with rice noodles and "six differences" of beef in beef soup. Brisket, eye of round, and frank (I presume "flank") are familiar enough; omosa (tripe), navel (cartilage from you-know-where) and tendon each add their version of chewy or gelatinous texture, but less pleasantly and less substantively than a good Italian tripe stew. Next time I'll likely limit myself to the more traditional cuts.

We also split a plate of banh cuon cha lua ($5.50), an array of steamed glutinous rice crepes containing minced mushroom, served with Vietnamese ham, toasted garlic, plus sprouts and other assorted veggies.

Pho Tay Ho
2351 86th St., Bath Beach, Brooklyn
718-499-0199

Bakery Baku

The owners of this small Azerbaijani storefront gave it the name of their home country's capital. They also brought westward some intriguing alternatives to the usual bakery fare, like this patty ($1.50) loaded with a moist, dense filling of crushed walnuts.

"Butter, flour, sugar," I was told, were the humble ingredients of a rugalech-like pastry (80 cents), a delectable choice when fresh from the oven. Many more choices to work my way through.

Bakery Baku
19-72 86th St., Bath Beach, Brooklyn
718-996-5414

Sun Hing

Russian-speaking shoppers, and quite a few shelves of Russian products, mingle in this mainly Chinese market. Good spread of fresh seafood; OK produce; perhaps I missed the meat counter. From the extensive snacks aisle, these Red Flower brand seaweed-flavored peanuts (6 oz.; $1.49) were sweet; I was hoping for briny, however, or at least savory.

Sun Hing
25-02 86th St., Bath Beach, Brooklyn