Posted by Erin Zimmer, June 18, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Fried pickles from Wintzell's Oyster House in Mobile, Alabama. When visiting a couple weeks ago, I was more excited for these than the actual oysters.
To save a half-second, just call them "frickles." Snackable like French fries or popcorn shrimp, these deep-fried discs have the briney flavor of salt and vinegar chips and the addictive quality of, well, anything deep-fried. Apparently pickle spears can get too soggy, so most restaurants serve the bread-and-butter kind usually found on hamburgers. To cut the vinegary punch, orders are usually served with a creamy dipping sauce.
See what restaurant kitchens are sizzling pickles, not just potatoes and onions, after the jump. Note: Frickle-making is especially common in a certain region of the country. West Coast, are you listening? Throw some pickles into the deep fryer already!
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Posted by Zach Brooks, September 26, 2007 at 12:30 PM
Cauliflower is a pretty unpopular vegetable, isn't it? I'm not a huge fan (possibly because of the cauliflower and ketchup pasta I was subjected to as a kid), and I'm not alone, due in no small part to the fact that most people boil it to death. Take that same cauliflower, deep-fry it, and serve it in sandwich form, like they do at Nuba, in downtown Vancouver, and you may see a lot more converts.
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Posted by Zach Brooks, July 25, 2007 at 12:00 PM
I am firm believer in the that if you fry anything, it's an automatic improvement. Fry something and put it in sandwich form, and you've struck gold. Nowhere is that more apparent than an hour or two south of San Francisco, in Monterrey County, the Artichoke Capital of the World, where hundreds of restaurants serve up their version of the fried artichoke sandwich. I can't imagine there's a bad fried artichoke sandwich to be had in the whole county, but my go-to stop is the Lighthouse Harbor Grill, in Moss Landing, right on Route 1.
Their version is served on a ciabatta-like "Francese Roll" from Kelly's French Bakery in Santa Cruz. It's given a nice dose of balsamic vinegar on the bottom slice and is then topped with locally grown artichokes that began the previous night marinating in saltwater and citric acid. After the soak, the artichokes are dipped in a tempura batter with garlic powder and parsley before being deep-fried to a golden brown. The sandwich has the requisite lettuce, tomato, and onion—but the real key is the thick rectangular hunk of feta that rests in the middle.
The salty and sharp feta, with the rich and crisp artichokes, cut by the balsamic vinegar and held together by a soft pillowy ciabatta roll. The perfect roadside sandwich for the Route 1 traveler, and further proof that fried is always better.
Lighthouse Harbor Grill
Address: Route 1 and Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing CA 95039
Phone: 831-633-3858
