The Fickle Pickle

It is a well-known axiom in the South that the best food in the world is always prepared by our grandmothers. There is nothing so sweet, so succulent, so sinfully good as whatever your grandmother has just cooked or baked. With this caveat in mind, I still think I would have disliked the fried tomato sandwich at the Fickle Pickle in Roswell Square.

I entered the quaint little deli-restaurant with such high hopes: it had a relaxed but cute atmosphere, sophisticated fare, and it wasn't a chain. They even had a few vegetarian sandwiches! (Though no entrees, I'm afraid.) After I'd ordered I couldn't wait for my meal to arrive. First came the appetizers, fried cajun pickles and hot potato chips. The pickles were very good and well cooked, and quite a surprise for a seasoned fried food addict. Usually fried vegetables have a hint of sweetness, but this was all-sour. Sinful, but worth trying. The chips were pretty good, but the pickles were better. We got the half orders of each, which was far too much for two people. A half order could probably serve 3-4 people.

Next came the main event: my fried green tomato sandwich. I love fgt sandwiches, and the description sounded so enticing: "Fried Green Tomatoes with Pepper Jack Cheese, Tomato Jam, Onion, Arugula & Basil Mayo on Sourdough." Unfortunately, however, the sandwich did not hold up to the hype. The sourdough was boring, and quickly became soggy due to the mayo on one side and the "tomato jam" (aka soggy tomato chunks) on the other. The cheese was very tasty, but it was a weird semi-warm temperature and texture when it came time to eat it. They really should have just gone ahead and melted it. But the real sin, the horrible affliction of the sandwich, was the tomato.

Now, when my grandmother fried vegetables, it was ALWAYS in a cornmeal batter. The vegetable was soft and moist (but never mushy), and you could very easily take a nice big bite with or without the aid of a fork. So perhaps this is why I don't understand why restaurants cook (or rather don't cook) fried green tomatoes the way that they do. My issue is this: the tomatoes are way too hard. I'm aware that green tomatoes don't naturally have a lot of give. However, they also don't naturally taste like anything, so you have to fry them to make them good. I don't really see the need to respect the integrity of the vegetable if you wouldn't eat it raw. Thus, it baffles me to see these lightly-battered, barely cooked concoctions they dare call fried.

Now, in the context of a sandwich, perhaps you want them to be a little more sturdy. Alright, I can deal with that. I still think, however, that no fried green tomato should ever require a knife to cut through it. Between the toughness of the tomato, the hard crust of the sourdough and the sogginess of the rest of the sandwich, the texture was basically a trainwreck. Eventually I decided to lose one slice of bread and make it more of an open-faced sandwich (or an over-large crostini), but the bread was hardly up to the task. I would say a thicker bread, such as a wheat bread, lightly toasted, would have righted a lot of wrongs, and probably given me a better overall impression of the sandwich.

I've seen comments left on other websites by people who say that they enjoyed the sandwich, so perhaps it was an off night. Personally, I would order something else.

Would I Go Back?: Actually, yes I think I would. I'm a sucker for a cute place with a gourmet appetite, so I think I would be willing to give it a second chance with another dish.

Other Veg Options I Did Not Order: A roasted vegetable sandwich. Really, that's it. Gotta love the suburbs. Even the gourmet salads have meat, though the staff did seem friendly and probably would leave it off for you. There was also a pimiento cheese and ham sandwich I was eying (minus the ham of course). The dinner menu is touted as their specialty, but there is nothing vegetarian on it. You can order off the lunch menu at night, but I would say skip it for dinner if you want something substantial.

The fried cajun pickles were a tasty appetizer, as well as the hot potato chips. One warning on the fried pickles: they come with a remoulade sauce which some chefs can make with anchovies. I didn't know this at the time, so I would suggest asking, but otherwise they are good enough to skip the sauce entirely.

Atmosphere: Now, this is where the place really shines. The building is a refurbished old house an easy walk from historic Roswell Square, and it has a spacious patio out back that seemed relatively bug-free. Fair warning, they do have live music on Tuesday nights. The night we went, there was a little jazz band composed of high school band geeks clearly struggling through their adolescence.

Website and menu: http://www.ficklepicklecafe.com

Consider The Vegetarian

We all have that friend. You know, the one who loves to eat out and try new restaurants but who has that bewildering (and sometimes irritating) dietary limitation. No matter which kind of establishment you choose, whether upscale or casual, ethnic or domestic, chain or independent, one question must invariably be answered: IS THERE ANYTHING VEGETARIAN?

The short answer is YES. Unfailingly, there will be an ever-abundant supply of small garden salads and potato side dishes to sate one's hunger. But for the discerning vegetarian, the wilted lettuce and starch buffet holds all the appeal of prison gruel.

Therefore, I claim that we are through with your spaghetti with marinara sauce and we have eaten our last grilled cheese. We are stepping out of the side-item menu and glaring pointedly at our missing second courses. We are the GastroVegetarians, and we are hungry. Like that other up-and-coming foodie trend known as the GastroPub, we believe in adding a gourmet touch to our everyday eating lives. And yes, that means we would like entrees, please.

This blog is devoted to searching the city for exquisitely prepared plates that will tempt the delicate pallets of GastroVegetarians everywhere. We intend not to focus on exclusively vegetarian restaurants, as those tend to frighten away some of our meat-loving dining companions.

We here at Howdy Foodie believe that veggies and meat-eaters can sit side by side at a table of brotherhood and eat in abundance.