How many times have you driven past The Pickle (or formerly Niko’s Spicy Pickle) at 914 Union Street and wondered about it? For the Dining Divas, the answer was hundreds of times. So, we thought it was about time we stopped in instead of driving by. We met owner Alejandro Chihuaque and his son Angel, who were delightful. Alejandro worked for 6 years at this spot when it was The Spicy Pickle and has spent the last 10 years as owner of what is now called just The Pickle. Business is good and steady, lots of take out, and lots were eating in when we were there. It’s not a fancy place, but there is some eclectic decor, and a display case with soft drinks and brownies (the only dessert in the house) that caught Jo’s notice.
The Pickle has a large menu, with Mexican specialties, as well as pizza, calzones, subs, paninis, salads, wraps, and a few items featuring gyro meat. And although there are some pickles on the menu and many dishes come with a pickle on the side, you are not required to like pickles to eat there.
We started as a small group; Linda, Kay, and Jo, but had a surprise guest, Reed Davisson, who was stopping in to pick up a carry-out order. He and Jo were acquainted, so he came over and when he realized we were Dining Divas, decided to sit with us a spell. He has a new job downtown and expects to visit the Pickle regularly. We also had 2 remote eaters, Whitney and Olivia, whom we delivered food to at their jobs and waited for their opinions.
Reed had the Rodeo Beef Panini (roast beef, Provolone, onions, artichokes, banana peppers, southwest sauce) which he claimed “was great with many ingredients while remaining well balanced. It was savory with only the heat from the banana peppers. The sauce they served with it was good and tied it all together.”
Jo had the Strawberry Spinach Salad and was completely satisfied with her selection. “There is nothing fancy about The Pickle, but the number of strawberries, pecans, and cheese on this mixed-greens salad, which is mainly spinach, along with the Parmesan and raspberry vinaigrette, would beat many salads at much fancier places. Jo is not a bread eater, but the two cute breadsticks looked very nicely homemade. She was full after this visit, but she thinks next time she’ll need to save room for one of the brownies, maybe the turtle brownie.”
Linda tried (surprise!!) the small, Skinny Shrimp Pizza and said “it was fantastic! The crust had the perfect crunch to it. I customized mine without onions, so it was loaded with just shrimp, juicy tomatoes, and plenty of delicious garlic. Great flavor overall—I’ll definitely be ordering this again.” Kay cadged a piece and agreed with Linda’s assessment and thought how it would really be perfect with the onions added back in. One note, The Pickle offers a cauliflower crust option on their pizzas.
Kay had the Breakfast Calzone (sausage, egg, ham, bacon, cheddar). Kay is a fan of breakfast all day and she got her wish with this calzone. It was enough for lunch and dinner too. It was served with a side of homemade salsa that perfectly complemented the crispy calzone crust and the satisfying breakfast filling. You can also “build your own” calzone, and that goes for the pizza and paninis too.
Olivia had the Gyro Salad and reported “my salad was a perfect medley of protein, veggies, and feta. I am a huge lover of Mediterranean food, so a deconstructed gyro was my ideal lunch. It was a large salad, which I appreciated, and had all the "fixings" as my grandmother always said. The olives, banana peppers, and pepperoncinis brought a lot of personality.”
Whitney didn’t see the menu ahead of time and said “Surprise me?” So we got her a Chicken Chalupa (chicken, pico de gallo, mozzarella, and cheddar served with avocado, nacho cheese, salsa verde, and sour cream on the side). She loved it! She was also the only one of us who was familiar with this restaurant and she had this memory: “It’s always been fantastic, but I think it changes every once in a while. I remember when it was Niko’s Spicy Pickle and they had the best subs. But a half sub was one 9” sub and a whole sub was actually 2 of them so the portions were preposterous!”
Subs are still on the menu, and a lot of other items we’re looking forward to sampling in the future.
