Food & Drink
Pickled Veggies Are Trending Palate Pleasers at Area Restaurants
Local chefs are putting their own unique touches on brined produce.
Pickled vegetables are having a moment—and local restaurants are paying attention to the culinary possibilities.
“They’re versatile,” says chef Robbie Tutlewski, owner of Little Donna’s in Upper Fells Point. “They make a showcase.”
The house pickle plate on Tutlewski’s menu is a prime example. Heaped with pickled baby carrots, watermelon rind, baby cucumbers, beets, and whatever else strikes the chef’s fancy, the dish is a satisfying palate pleaser, complete with creamy deviled eggs.
“Pickles are super [food],” says Tutlewski. “They’re good for you. I’ve been eating them from the time I was a kid.”
He’s not the only restaurateur who’s been devouring pickles since childhood.
“When I was a kid, I loved pickled beets,” says chef Jesse Sandlin. “My mom would send me to school with a jar of beets in my lunchbox.”
That food fondness stuck with the Baltimore-bred chef, who now features pickled vegetables on her menus, including “lunch-box beets” at Sally O’s in Highlandtown. At Bunny’s Buckets & Bubbles in Fells Point, she fashions a container of mixed tart veggies with bell peppers, carrots, and radishes.
“It’s a nice little appetizer because it doesn’t fill you up,” Sandlin explains. “It adds acid and gets your appetite going a bit.”
Chef Jeremy Hoffman, who operates Preserve in Annapolis, taps his childhood.
“One of my earliest memories is going to the grocery store to the deli section when they used to have big barrels of dill pickles,” he says. “I remember opening the lid and loving the scent. Everything is made better with pickles.”
Hoffman carried over that idea to Preserve, where “pickling, preserving, and fermenting is a passion.” His icebox pickles showcase cucumbers, carrots, red peppers, and onions. His house giardiniera is a jumble of cauliflower, olives, pickles, and peppers in an olive brine.
“Vinegar-based pickles lend themselves to be an accent to other dishes,” Hoffman says. “People’s flavor profiles and what they’re willing to eat has really expanded.”