Katz Deli was literally just down the road so we hot-footed it there only to find the prices seriously ridiculous ($12.00 for a bagel - puhLEASE - we don't even pay that much in Australia)! Miss M and I also both agreed that the place was a bit...grimy...and our $12.00 would be better spent elsewhere.
And what better way to spend $12.00 and try something from a store that is a little different than visit The Pickle Guys.
The name of this store pretty much sums up what's on offer - pickles. Anything that they can hold down long enough to go into the pickle vat gets the pickling treatment. The store is tiny, very quite narrow and nearly every available inch of floorspace is taken up with huge vats of pickled goods. Heaven!
The owner of the store was impressed that I was able to identify the below vat as Pickled Turnips (all those trips to El Jannah's weren't for nothing). In fact he said I was the only person EVER not to think it was a vat full of beetroot. Way to go Miss Piggy!
We ended up leaving with a few sour pickles each and a tub of mixed pickled vegies. The food was really delicious and I loved the novelty factor of a store that sells nothing but pickled goods.
The pickles we bought we super sour and super tart...made my face go a bit "winky".
That is so cool that you know your pickles! Shame about Katz's, but it does look very touristy as well as down at heel.
ReplyDeleteoh yum! pickles!!! i really enjoyed the Katz's deli! it seems so long ago since we were last there :( ... and it probably was!
ReplyDeleteRuss & Daughters, Katzs, I struggled to acknowledge what the big deal was with both of these establishments. And to be honest I wasn't all that fond of any of the pickles that sided my meals in New York. I clearly got the ordinary ones. I think I need to go back!
ReplyDeleteRe. "The pickles we bought we super sour and super tart...made my face go a bit "winky"."
ReplyDeleteYou silly sausage (I say that with a great deal of respect) that's because most Aussies don't really understand what pickles are about. The average Aussie buys what are "preserved cucumbers" in vinegar. Real pickles are made by pouring boiling water with salt (dill, garlic, etc)over a barrel of cucumbers. After awhile the cucumbers start to ferment. They don't ferment (rot) all the way because the salt (or vinegar) controls the amount of bacteria in the pickles water. You do this precisely with sour kraut also. Having been born in Australia like you I walked the same path as you. First time I tried real pickles I thought "what the hell ???". You then get used to them. I lived in Poland for five years (1996-2001)and the way most Polaks (and other Europeans) bought pickles in a modern supermarket was from a help yourself barrel (as you describe in your blog) and not a glass jar like in Australia. I remember once having a real Polish piss-up (lots of vodka) with a group of Polish friends in Poland and one of the girls took a swig of the "pickles brine" (left over water from pickled cucumbers) and handed me the jar to take a drink. I initially hesitated and thought "what the f...?". I then complied and took a drink. You know what ??? That brine from pickles was so refreshing and so tasty that you cannot imagine. It had a cucumber taste and was so tasty. So get used to the taste of real pickles. The stuff on the shelves at Woolies and Coles is not the real deal.
See for inspiration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickled_cucumber
Cheers, Good blog !!!
One more quickie. I bought the "Foodies' Guide to Sydney 2012" book you described in your blog on eBay from a UK seller for $14.00 (plus $3 postage). That's a total of $17.00 AUD. On the Aussie market it sells for $30.00 (not inc. postage) from Dymocks or ABC on-line. Cheaper to buy Aussie books in the UK. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteRan out of time and I didn't get to the Pickle guy, next time. It was just as packed at Russ & Daughters when I went, but they seem to get to you pretty quickly, best baegel ever! I did go to Katz, yep looks a bit grimy, but best Rueben ever.
ReplyDeleteOh I love pickles! I use to really dislike them as a child but now I will buy a jar and quite happily chow down on it until I have emtpied it haha
ReplyDeletei fucking love pickles!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteat disneyland in 07 i was just as excited by the giant pickles as i was by the.. al other stuff!
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