Bklyn Larder opened this week—they didn't have a really good answer on why they hate certain letters—by the owners of Franny's pizzeria down the block, Francine Stephens and her chef-husband Andrew Feinberg. It's pretty small. Just a deli with prepared foods, salumi, and cheeses facing shelves of imported pastas, fancy chocolates, and other non-essential (but lovely) items, and a refrigerated section full of yogurts, bacon, and $9 pints of house-made gelato.

We went straight for the sandwiches, which rotate daily and range from $7.50 to $8.50. The focus is on really good meats, cheeses, and bread (mostly from Sullivan Street and Pain D'Avignon), and since they're working with such good ingredients, they keep it simple. Photos of the market and food, after the jump.

Grilled castellano ($7.50) is the kind of grilled cheese you need towels for wiping your greasy paws on after. Buttery, toasted multigrain bread with melted sheep's milk cheese from Spain.

Rapini and fresh ricotta ($8.50). Don't be fooled by the short flatness—it packs a lot of flavor.

Grilled ham and l'Etivaz ($8.50), or "how they used to make Gruyere in the 19th century," they'll tell you. It's creamy and, to continue the theme, buttery, and only made from cows that graze on wild flowers and herbs in Alpine pastures.

Salami from Salumeria Biellese and provolone with hot peppers ($8.50) has all the great salty meat and oily bread qualities of a muffuletta.

Tuna and anchovy ($8.50).

Veal meatball ($5). Good, but yikes, five bucks a ball is a little steep.

Uncooked porchetta is sold for $19 a pound, or you can get it hot in sandwich form for $8 on grilled bread.

The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. What is a larder you ask? Besides a word that sounds like the white fat blob? The back of the staff's shirts tell us: a place like a pantry or cellar where food is stored.

The almighty canned tomatoes that go into the Franny's pizza sauce: Strianese Whole Peeled D.O.P. San Marzano Tomatoes, sold here for $6 a can.

Lots of huge cheese wheels sitting around, with a nice-looking selection of others behind the glass counter. While they stick with Italian cheeses at Franny's, they said they feel pretty liberated now, incorporating the Spanish and French.

Olive oil on draft? Sorta. They'll fill bottles of the "green and peppery" Terra di Bari DOP Extra Virgin olive oil for $19 (per 750 milliliters) from a big stainless-steel jug called a "fusta."

Gelato made in-house ($9 a pint): espresso, hazelnut, almond, chocolate chip, strawberry, and pistachio.

In terms of the product selection, it's kind of like an indoor Brooklyn Flea since so many of the artisanal food vendors are represented here: Salvatore Bklyn, Early Bird Granola, and McClure's Pickles. The boutiquey food is a fun splurge, but you can probably survive without pistachio nut butter.

Bklyn Larder

228 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11217 (b/n Bergen Street and St. Marks Avenue; map)
718-783-1250