Best Thing We Ate This Week: Veggie Panini with Olive Tapenade at Fish and Sip

Though I usually have the grilled fish at , the fish restaurant/coffee shop on Flatbush Avenue and Bergen, today I needed the decadence of melted cheese.

So I opted for the Veggie Panini, and was pleasantly surprised. The French bread is layered with roasted vegetables including eggplant, red pepper, onions and tomato, and then topped with mozzarella cheese.

Because I have a penchent for salt, I substituted their olive tapenade for the chimichurri sauce, and the result was a perfect. The pressed French bread had just the right amount of crunch, and the tapenade added a savory kick to the somewhat mild grilled veggies and mozzarella.

So if you're not a fish lover, don't be steered away from this gem of a cafe, where the laid-back yet efficient servers know who you are after your first visit. The menu is full of pasta, sandwiches and other non-fish dishes. 

I usually try to order the fish when I'm there (since I rarely make it at home), but it's going to be hard to resist the veggie panini next time I come in.

Have a favorite dish in the neighborhood? Let us know in the comments!