Eating In Translation

Winner

From the rotating selection of focaccia: Kalamata olive and thyme.

Winner
367 Seventh Ave. (at 11th St.), Park Slope, Brooklyn
www.Winner.nyc

D'Vine Taste

Chocolate flatka, cut from a sheet — "like babka, but flat," said the fellow who served me.

D'Vine Taste
150 Seventh Ave. (Garfield Pl.-Carroll St.), Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-369-9548

Shelsky's Brooklyn Bagels

Perhaps I've become too accustomed to "Flushing spicy." I chose the tamest possible pairing, an egg bagel, to take the measure of Sichuan chili crisp cream cheese, but, if I'd been sitting at a dumpling house, condiments at hand, I would have dabbed on a little chili paste, too. That said, the bagels themselves are delightfully chewy. An early favorite: cracked pepper and salt.

H/T Diana Kuan and Andrew Coe

Shelsky's Brooklyn Bagels
453 Fourth Ave. (at 10th St.), Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-855-8817
www.Shelskys.com/Bagel-Store

Butter, eggs, cheese, homemade salads

This space was a delicatessen "at the very least from the 1920s through the 1980s," according to a comment posted on a neighborhood website. Citing contemporary telephone directories, the commenter identified four distinct delis that operated at this address. It's unclear which business commissioned this signage or when the last of the delis shut its doors.

The old signage was uncovered in 2013 when a former hair salon was being renovated to make way for the current tenant, Acme Wines & Spirits. Rather than remove it, Acme embraced it. The lettering above the door — wines, spirits — is a respectable match for delicatessen lettering that might be a century older.

Butter, eggs, cheese, homemade salads
Surviving signage at Acme Wines & Spirits
487 Fifth Ave. (11th-12th Sts.), Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-832-5101
www.AcmeWinesAndSpirits.com

McDermott-Bunger Dairy

Surviving signage, 604 Pacific St. (at Flatbush Ave.), Park Slope, Brooklyn
See also this better-preserved example in Harlem

L'Albero dei Gelati

Last-chance weather for open-air gelati: coffee-chestnut and orange (two scoops, $5.50). Though unappealing in looks, the lump at the back was a nut meat, softened but entire.

L'Albero dei Gelati
341 Fifth Ave. (4th-5th Sts.), Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-788-2288
www.AlberoDeiGelati.com

Corner of Vermont

(This venue is closed.) At first blush, you and I would probably call this soft-serve, but in the Green Mountain State the name is creemee, maple creemee (small, plus topping, about $4). The maple hit was intense enough that the red raspberry sauce took it down a notch.

Corner of Vermont
374 Fifth Ave. (5th-6th Sts.), Park Slope, Brooklyn
347-844-9288
www.Facebook.com/CornerOfVermont

2 Duck Goose

(This venue is closed.) The menu is a collaboration between a Hong Kong-born owner and a chef, of Mexican and Salvadorian descent, who has traveled through and cooked in China and Southeast Asia. One happy consequence: char siu married with flavors from both East and West.

Bonnie's Grill

Best known in western New York State, beef on weck ($10.95) piles thin-sliced roast beef on a hard roll, crusted with salt and caraway, called kummelweck. Horseradish is the standard condiment. Despite the wetness of the sandwich — Bonnie's doesn't stint on the juice, let alone on the beef — it's a thirst-inducing combination of flavors. Cole slaw dressed with red-pepper powder, and a plate of meaty Buffalo chicken wings (small, $8.95), will take you further down that road. Buffalo bar owners (so goes the story) first offered beef on weck as a way to sell more beer; Bonnie's will oblige you in that regard, too.

Bonnie's Grill
278 Fifth Ave. (1st St.-Garfield Pl.), Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-369-9527
www.BonniesGrill.com

Corn Exchange Bank Trust Co.

Surviving signage on Flatbush Ave. near Sterling Pl., Prospect Heights, Brooklyn