Oh, the poor, humble pickle. Whether lying next to a hamburger
or slipped as an afterthought into tuna salad, pickles routinely
play second fiddle in American cuisine. Of course, with its
greenish complexion and homely bumps, the fermented cucumber
hardly qualifies as leading lady material. Still, something
feels amiss when the pickle is not around. What good is falafel
without that extra hit of something sour? Or pastrami without a
few kosher dills parked nearby? But there was a time when the
pickle commanded more respect. From the late 1800s through the
mid 1900s, it was a staple of Jewish (and, by extension, New
York) cuisine. Peddlers sold brined cukes right from the barrel,
and bowls of half and full sours got plunked onto delicatessen
tables, free of charge — a modest but tasty amuse bouche. During
that time, more than 100 independent pickle sellers (mostly new
Jewish immigrants) jostled for real estate on streets and in
storefronts on Manhattan’s cramped Lower East Side. The thriving
industry, which ev