Takahachi Bakery's Croquette Sandwiches and Almond-Miso Cookies

Takahachi Bakery opened in Tribeca last month, making its own bread and the wonderful East-meets-West hybrid pastries and sandwiches one finds at a Japanese bakery. For some cheap ($3.50) carb-on-carb action, you can't do better than the croquette sandwich, shown above.

Panko-breaded potato-and-pea croquettes get stuffed into a fresh, squishy bun with a bit of sweet-tangy tonkatsu sauce, pickled cabbage, and thinly sliced cucumber. Despite the combination of potato and bread, the whole thing ends up seeming almost delicate, thanks to its relatively diminutive size and the refreshing crunch provided by the vegetables.

For dessert, there are many elaborate and beautiful neapolitans, opera cakes, and macarons. But the almond-miso cookie was calling out to me, and for good reason. The combination of almond and miso is genius, and it's everything you want a cookie to be: chewy and soft, with almond playing a sweet, floral high note and miso adding low, salty depth.

Takahachi Bakery
25 Murray Street
212-791-5550