(This venue is closed.) She's a taut ship.
Small but able, this ingenious snack shop and bakery crafts nautically themed square sandwiches ($6 to $9) like the "captain's daughter," a loose marriage of sardines, pickled egg, and salsa verde. (In the first two photos below, it's shown with the hood up, then with a fork that's proffered to help you tidy up after.) Saltie's sandwiches are framed by superb focaccia, which also is pillowy enough to partner with soft-scrambled egg and fresh ricotta in the modestly named "ship's biscuit." Specials might include curried butternut squash ($8), heavy with fingerling, purple, and yellow potatoes in a yogurt sauce.
Desserts (most $2-$4) are subtle rather than cupcake sweet, and vary from day to day; a few shown here I procured at the New Amsterdam Market. They've included a cookie-like, currant-studded eccles cake, a slice of olive oil cake, a plum scone, a rich slab of ricotta cake, and a creamy cupful of blueberries, cream, and meringue. This "Eton mess," as the last item is better known, reportedly appears in the shop as an ice cream; I have yet to try it.
Saltie
378 Metropolitan Ave. (at Havemeyer St.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718-387-4477
www.SaltieNY.com
