The Warehouse, 20 Learned St., Albany, NY

So here's the thing about visions. They have to be able to see things that aren't there yet. And that takes some doing.

Take a small corner of Albany for example. You drive past weedy lots with the occasional brownstone or two sticking up like the last teeth in an old man's smile. There is an over pass with a few men huddled up underneath, hands wrapped around paper coffee cups, a dry bit of shelter from the pounding rain. On one building, there is a big banner announcing that lofts are coming with Hudson River views. And tucked on a small street behind gentrification-free lots of grime and grit, there is The Warehouse, with its natural-meats outlet, long-haired folk singer, and jars of vintage honey and hazelnut hot fudge.

The Warehouse still feels more like a vision than a fixture in the Albany landscape. Like an experiment with quirks and bumbles, but also a place where interesting things might happen. I like these kinds of places. They don't have a pre-packaged feel, and you can never be sure what you might find.

I found several things that might draw me back sooner rather than later.

Cheese maker Sean O'Connor had a small table where he was handing out samples of his many goat cheese selections as well as a cow's milk Italian-style hard table cheese. He will be my first stop on my next visit.

I skipped his soft cheese because my mother-in-law keeps me well stocked in soft goat-cheese concoctions. But his hard cheeses were a treat. The sharp table-cheese was wonderful and had the kind of flavor that makes you want to run out and buy crisp apples and red wine. My 4-year-olds, who pretty much live to dip their spoons in Parmesan cheese, loved it as well.

New this week was a spice vendor who has one of the better selections I've seen in the area.

There were large glass jars of cinnamons from across the globe, two kinds of adobo seasoning, several nice looking curries as well as wide selection of basic spices from most of the world's cuisines -- Jamaican allspice, cumin, black sesame seeds, etc. The one spice I've been looking for all week, sumac, he was out of, but he said he regularly stocks it.

There were delicious cupcakes to be had as well as fine looking cannolis and a very moist pumpkin spice muffin.

I'm not a big fan of honey, but Center Square Honey's Cindy Barclay had me intrigued with tastings from honey harvested in different seasons. The summer honey was a robust version of traditional honey flavors, but the autumn honey had a caramel-laced multi-layered sweetness that I'm still thinking about 24-hours later.