109 St. Marks Pl. (between 1st Avenue and Avenue A) 646-964-5181 www.timna.nyc/
Mediterranean. When is a flower pot not? When it’s the basket for your kubaneh bread at Timna. Light years better than a geranium, these freshly baked rolls materialize beside three delicious dips: crushed tomatoes, crème fraîche and jalapeno salsa. Equally devotion inducing, the Turkish bruschetta (pickled tuna, crème fraîche, pickled onions, pickled mustard seeds). So different from the Italian, every bite pickled perfection. Should you remain fish desirous, theirs comes caponata (cherry tomato confit, kalamata olives, green zucchini, fried eggplant, sweet potato). And if that were not enough, a zucchini flower rich with goat cheese is its truly inspired accompaniment. For lamb lovers, there’s a savory saddle (black garlic purée, sunchoke gratin, pancetta crumbs, broccolini and pistachio pesto). If pistachio is your passion, you can end the evening with an encore. It’s the ice cream of choice here, served in harmony with raw tahini, silan and shredded halva. I would not have been surprised had the check arrived in a watering can. There’s a wealth of creativity behind the kitchen doors at Timna.