Originally Posted by
rhiannonwales
I love pickles myself - when i was a kid my mother caught me drinking the brine from the jars and was horrified, lol.
I'm really picky about pickles though - i rarely eat them in restaurants, because sometimes they look good, but when you bite into them, they are the same old yucky mushy vlasics that i hate.
My favorite ones are salt water brined ones sold in the refrigerated section of the market, or sometimes found in the kosher fridge here in NJ. They are called Ba - Tampte garlic dills. They have no vinegar in them (not that vinegar is bad) and they are yummy! My second favorite would probably be the Boars Head refrigerated ones they have in the Delis... i used to work in a deli and was always eating the pickles, lol.
My dad would buy 5 gallon pails of Ba Tampte half-sours for his deli station... they are my crack. I try very hard to control portions of what/where I eat, but deli half-sours get downed like a chip mill chews trees.
There are four tests of a good deli, Jewish or not:
+ Is the rye bread spicy but filled with the rich scent of yeast?
+ Does the pastrami have a good, black crust filled with coriander and pepper?
+ Does the chicken soup's broth have so much flavor that it alone would be a meal?
+ Are the Half-Sour's salt cured, bright green, served whole, and begging you to eat the whole bowl?
Cheers,
-Andrew