Grillo's Pickles

Sometimes, life is full of surprises.  OK, most of the time. A couple weeks ago, I get an email from Miles McAlpin from Grillo's Pickles out of Cambridge, MA. He asked me if I'd be willing to review his pickles.  Since they're not readily available here in SE Michigan, I said, "Sure!", and a week later (they ship on tuesdays), I had a box of pickles on my doorstep.

They came packed very securely, with rubber bands holding the lids on in case of any accidents.  As pictured on the left, they're clear plastic "tubs" to let you view the goodness inside.  Visually, that's a good move, because you see all of the big slices of garlic, the dill weed and the beautiful cucumber spears inside.  There was a little tab to remove before you could pry the lid up, but otherwise, they were remarkably tightly sealed...it took some coaxing to get the lids off!  More about the lids later...

Grillo's Pickles are what I'd call a "deli-style", fresh-pack type of pickle, similar to what the Claussen national brand does.  They need to stay refrigerated, because they are 100% natural and contain no preservatives.  The ingredient panel pretty much confirms this...6 ingredients total, including the brine ingredients.  Government regs aside, they really don't need the label...you can see and taste what's in there.

Grillo's Italian Dill Pickles.
Note the garlic slices!

Open the lid, and you see the cukes, obviously, but then the slices of garlic, the dill weed and...grape leaves!?  First bite is crunchy and the first thing that you notice (like you'd notice a 2x4 to the head) is the garlic.  They are "Italian" dill pickles, and the garlic really underscores what they mean.  Its certainly not objectionable, but its not disguised.  Once the flavors start blending you notice that the dill smooths some of the punch of the garlic into a briney, herby goodness...and prompts another bite.  I went through 2 of these spears without even flinching. They have a unique flavor, which I have to give credit to the grape leaves...I have a feeling they take the bite out of the garlic's punchiness, but that's just a hunch. 

The brine is about what you'd expect of a "deli" dill...water, vinegar and salt in pleasant proportions, so that you taste the vinegar, but it doesn't whack you upside the head, like our benchmark McClure's brand. I think this makes these pickles very "munchable", so that you can go through 2 or 3 without noticing.

The second jar Grillo's shipped was their "HOT" variety. After Harold's "Derned Hot" variety, I've approached "hot" varieties with a newfound respect. Grillo's HOT variety are the nice kind of hot, not the mean kind.  Flavored with strips of jalepeno pepper (see the picture below), it provides them with a little extra peppery zing, but you can still munch on these 2-3 at a time without needing an ER handy.  As with the normal pickles, these have loads of garlic and dill and have all of the wonderful qualities of the original Grillo's.

Grillo's "HOT" variety. Note the
jalepeno slices and garlic!

For about 2 weeks now, I've really been enjoying both varieties and only regret that its taken me this long to write up the review for these excellent pickles.  They have great crunch, the right brine and present their flavors without hitting you over the head with them. The Hot variety adds a little heat without detracting from the basic goodness and flavor of the originals.  It was really nice seeing whole sprigs of dill rather than a few choppings at the bottom.  Slices of garlic ensure that the garlic flavor gets into the pickles and adds its own "hotness" to even the normal variety.  I really loved these pickles and will need a refill when I finish them up.

A word about the lids on these jars... I mentioned before that they were difficult to get off, and as Miles suggested, need a "heavy weight on one side of the jar and the lid will click right into place." I tried this and indeed it works.  I found that firmly pressing down with your palm on the edge and then pulling the bottom part of the jar up to the lid was what it took to click it into place.  Miles said that they "have discussed changing the jars but these ones are the best we can do at this stage".  The jars are made of fully recyclable plastic and seem pretty reusable, so I can appreciate their efforts to be environmentally responsible yet keep a lid on costs.

Right now, Grillo's is not (yet) a national brand, so getting a jar or four might be a mail-order affair.  The good news is that Whole Foods has picked up their brand in stores in New England, the Atlantic states and in the Gulf coast South.  They've even made it as far west as Ohio.  If you're in one of those areas, check their stock list.  If you're not, run, bike, or drive straight over to your hometown Whole Foods and ask them to stock Grillo's Pickles. If you want to make points with Grillo's and your humble reviewer, pester the living daylights out of the Ann Arbor, Michigan Whole Foods to carry them. ;)

Bravo, Grillo's, becoming one of my new favorites!

* * * * *

Grillo's Pickles, 1075 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139  http://grillospickles.com