Available (and you know you want it) at Market

Last Fourth of July my friend The Swarthy Menace (look at that chest ladies!) was in town and he invited me to a barbecue in Ditmas Park. When The Swarthy Menace invites you somewhere, you just go, but I was already "Ditmas curious" and the idea of grilling out in a yard, with grass, was heavenly to a homesick Southerner. I didn't want to show up empty handed, so I grabbed a jar of McClure's Hot and Spicy spears and hit the door. When I got there The Menace introduced me to the host, Tim, and a yard full of lovely people and while they helped themselves to the pickles I brought, I helped myself to the first of many Budweiser Tallboys...Happy Birthday America...

...I slept on the couch that night. Wait, no I didn't, I slept on the cushions from the couch on the floor. But who cares. Playing croquet for 4 hours (that was just ONE game) and drinking all night with The Menace was worth it. The next day, Tim, our ever patient host, asked me more about the pickles I brought and where they came from, and where the hell I came from, and then eventually kindly called a car to shuttle my pounding head home. I bid farewell to The Swarthy Menace and left Ditmas Park determined to come again. Well, I moved here a few months ago but I've yet to make my way back to Tim's croquet course (I have seen The Swarthy Menace again-this time in swarthy New Orleans)but I did, just last week, receive an email from him. I was expecting an invoice to have those couch cushions cleaned, but instead, Tim wrote to let me know how excited he was to find McClure's Pickles in our neighborhood. What a pleasant surprise!

That's right McClure's Pickles are now available right here in Ditmas Park. Coincidence? Of course. But I'll still take credit for it anyway. Mimi's Hummus , on Cortelyou Road has recently expanded to have a small shop next door called Market. I stopped in last week to have a peek at the pickle selection. Not only do they carry McClure's but also a couple of varieties from Brooklyn Brine (check out their hot new blog). I also spotted some clear quart containers with a handwritten label saying "Mimi's Pickles" - house-made pickles for just 3 bucks!

So, Tim, I guess this means you don't have to invite me over again just to get more pickles...but you can if you want to! I might be better behaved without a swarthy influence, but I can't make any promises.

** And now the New York Times is, once again, finally caught up with Pickle Freak.