Pickle News Courtesy of Blackened Out

One of my favorite new blogs is called Blackened Out and it's run by a couple of guys (more?) down in New Orleans. My friend Randy was already a devotee when he showed it to me on our trip down there over New Year's Eve and now I find myself eagerly reading it daily.

Today I read their latest review of the new John Besh venture The American Sector and I was awestruck by the mention and photo of complimentary house made pickles served in a small mason jar. Do you have ANY idea how thrilling it is to see this and understand why? No, I don't think you do.



It's because it's like they are instructing you to drink the juice. You don't have to shoot whiskey or drink a pickle martini, just pick up your jar and drink dammit!

You may have also noticed that this article goes into further detail about actual food AND that the restaurant is in the WWII Museum but I didn't. I stopped at the jar.

Pass the Salt & Pepper Pickles

Pass the Salt & Pepper Pickles WHAT?
Pass the Salt & Pepper Pickles PLEASE.

Yeah, that's right, watch your manners. These are MISS JENNY'S pickles and she's a lady dammit. Well, actually, she's two ladies......

Miss Jenny's Pickles is a brand spanking-new pickle company that started just last July in Kernersville, North Carolina by two Southern gals ('bout damn time!) named Ashlee and Jenny. They offer 3 varieties of pickles: Bread & Butter, Hot, and Salt & Pepper and they were nice enough to send me jars of all three!

I ate the hot ones first and as is usually the case they were gone before I could drag a camera out and shoot them...but even a half empty jar still looks pretty damn good doesn't it? I started with the hot pickles and then a few hours later I cracked open the Bread & Butter Pickles and I was tricked into thinking they tasted the same. So I got all three jars of pickles out and treated myself to a little "taste test" all in the call of "duty".

I was shocked by how similar they all tasted in my memory and how completely different they tasted once I had them all side by side. Each variety really has its own distinct flavor: the first two you can probably imagine already as I'm sure you're familiar with Bread & Butter Pickles and you know what "hot" means don't you? It would be easy to say the "hot" ones were just a spicy version of the bread & butter ones, but it wouldn't be completely wrong either. The Salt & Pepper flavor was what really had me excited. The base flavor was once again similar to the other two-a bright vinegary taste with just a hint of sweetness and cider vinegar but then, you guessed it, a sharp twang of BOTH spices you're used to shaking on your mashed potatoes.I've never heard of this kind of pickle and as far as I know, Ashlee and Jenny are the only ones making them. I'm told they are based on a recipe from Miss Jenny's grandmother and that it took several attempts to get the recipe just right.

Well, I'll say they've done it. These pickles belong on your checkered,oil-cloth covered table, in your picnic basket and in your fridge! Pass the Salt & Pepper Pickles PLEASE. Be nice or your won't get any.

You can support this small, independently, female owned pickle company by clicking here and learning more and by calling their toll free number for ordering. Something tells me that whoever answers the phone will be the nicest person you talk to all day!

Horman's Best ( I Could Get Used to This)

I feel pretty lucky most days, I mean, I've got a job and a fridge full of pickles and I've got a fridge full of pickles at my job. What more could I want? My pickles hand delivered to my job by the person who makes them?

Well, sure, that's a START. See that guy's face on the jar? That is Nick Horman of Horman's Best Pickles and last week he walked right in to the gallery and handed me a jar of kosher dills. He knows I like 'em spicy so he told me he added extra heat just for me. I could get used to this...


Nick is a third generation pickler (lucky) but started making his own pickles after graduating from college with a degree in philosophy. Student loans are a bitch. He is a calm, cool, approachable guy and it has been my privilege to get to know him after meeting him at the 2009 International Pickle Festival. He has his own pickle philosophy (he better!) and I admire him for his personal approach to pickling. You may already know him as the guy from the pickle festival selling the original Pickle on a Stick or from the pickle cart at 6th Avenue and Carmine Street, but what's really cool is that if you don't already know him, you can find him and say hello. Nick only sells his products on site at farmer's markets and other places in the city, fresh out of a series of 5 gallon buckets or from his website.

I, of course, like the spicy ones, but there are many flavors to choose from, like Horseradish, Honey Mustard, Red Flannel and Sweet Cajun pickle chips. I can also highly recommend one of my favorite pickled items ever: pickled cherry peppers, which Nick has also hand delivered to me in the past and I devoured them by eating 2-4 (this is an example of my "restraint") every morning for breakfast until they were gone, which reminds me I really should keep breath mints on my desk.

If you can't get out and meet Nick Horman yourself you can order from the website, but you're missing out on the best part of Horman's Best. Lucky for me I get the Horman with my Horman's Best!

Just Born

Spring has sprung and the new pickles have just been born!