Hey! Ya know what’s fun? Sandwiches. It’s a meal within two slices of your choice of flour and grain – Italian, light rye, wheat, pumpernickel [dark rye], panini, sub rolls, Ciabatta, multi-grain…
On the day of the S.U./Duke game, I ran over to the Brooklyn Pickle around 3:00 and picked up some sandwiches for the game. I got a bunch of half sandwiches with different breads and fillings and they were delightful, every single one. Now I didn’t eat them all myself mind you – I shared with my friends. A half sandwich at this place is like one whole sandwich, and a whole is like two sandwiches, which is perfect for you if you need to bulk up quickly before a wrestling match or if you’re super down and need food to lift your spirits.
One of the things I like about the Pickle is the atmosphere. It’s super-charged and very busy all of the time; like being at the state fair in the middle of the winter; so you can imagine how it was three hours before the game. But it’s all good. This deli is controlled chaos at its finest. The sandwich-maker takes your order and announces it to the cashier who rings it up and takes your payment. This is a good thing because as you know there is nothing worse than your friendly food-preparer using the same gloves they made your food with to handle your money – ewww.
We ordered all halves of Italian on rye, turkey on white, liverwurst on pumpernickel, chicken salad on pumpernickel, and egg and olive on rye. Liverwurst you say? Absolutely. And the Brooklyn Pickle’s is the closest to Katz’s in NYC that I can find. The worst is mellow, smooth, firm, not grainy and flavorful. We had the sandwich maker add a little yellow mustard which gives a nice tang without overpowering the liverwurst. Don’t be too quick to dismiss this oldie but goodie.
Speaking of oldie but goodie, that brings me to classic egg and olive. Egg salad made with Hellman’s and sliced Spanish olives added for zing. The only thing you need with this sandwich is a bag of kettle cooked chips and an iced tea…and maybe some cheesecake [which the Pickle sells by the slice by the way].
The turkey was fresh and thickly sliced, succulent with its tender pieces blanketed in provolone cheese, mayonnaise and a dash of Thousand Island dressing. The Italian is comprised of spicy slices of salami, provolone cheese and diced, marinated tomatoes. The only caveat here is that the tomatoes make the bread a little soggy, so we had the sandwich maker lay some crisp iceberg lettuce between the tomatoes and the bread. The chicken salad, another classic, was nicely complemented by chunks of spring green celery and mayo. You get the idea here that less is more when it comes to these sandwiches. There’s no garlic mayo, chipotle, honey mustard, etc. to cover up the essence of a fun sandwich.
Now, each sandwich is wrapped in wax paper and a few slices of crispy, sour pickles are folded into the package. These are part of what makes the Brooklyn Pickle the Brooklyn Pickle. Some other fun treats are puddings[chocolate, rice, vanilla], homemade cookies, brownies, apple pie…all of that stuff that you try to avoid after New Year’s Day; but really people, it’s February, so let’s get back to slip-shod eating habits and comfort food, shall we? This is where my mantra comes in: stressed spelled backward is desserts!
