recommendation: favorite pickles

All things pickle are not created equal. It really depends on your personal pickle preference - dill, sweet, spicy, etc. I am a pickle lover and while I don't like all pickles (McClure's are just too tart for me, I want to love them but I can't!), I do love a good spear. Here are a few that I just can't get enough of lately!

• Wickles Pickles - there are a few products we love. The first is their Hoagie & Sub Relish. Its got a slight kick to it and tastes awesome spread over a deli sandwich. We've even mixed it in with things like ketchup to take things to the next level. They make a relish that we haven't tried yet. We did try their pickles, which are classified as sweet. Bread and butter pickles I'm not a fan of but these things still have the Wickles kick to them (spiced but not too spicy). The recipes are 78 years old from an Alabama family that used to give them away as gifts and now sell them. Worth trying, found at my local grocery store, Buschs,or you can buy off their website.


• Speaking of sweet pickles, the best ones I've ever had, hands down, are from Chicago Q BBQ in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. They bring them to the table as snacks after you order your meal and they are absolutely out of this world. As I mentioned, I'm not a sweet pickle fan but I think these just have sugar added to the pickling juice. They are thin chips and have pickled onions with them. They are just great. And you can buy them! I love when restaurants sell their goods to take home with you. Online or at the bar for $7 a jar.


• Really pickle crazy? My friend Anne introduced me to Pickle flavored Pringles. You have to really love dills for this but if you do, you'll like them. I don't like salt & vinegar chips that much but it almost has that vinegar kick to it, the tang that makes your cheeks pucker a little bit, they are quite sour. But it definitely tastes like a pickle. Weird and awesome.


• Last but not least in the pickle world are the pickles from Zingerman's Deli. I've had some other immitation pickles recently from restaurants that want to serve a pickle two ways, but no one holds a candle to their beloved NEW (more like a cucumber, fresher and crunchier) or OLD (garlicky, more pickled) whole pickles that you get when you order a sandwich.

Honorable Mentions:
- Claussen Kosher Dill Spears: best crunchy spears
- Milwaukee's Midget Dill Pickle: best baby pickles
- Jimmy Johns Whole Pickle: best on-the-run pickle
- Trader Joes Dill Pickle: have not had but have heard good things!