Carnegie Deli pickles?

December 1, 2005 9:11 AM

Where can I buy pickles exactly like the ones they put on your table at the Carnegie Deli?

It's a christmas gift. They have to taste exactly the same. Exact. I need to be able to honestly say "these are THE SAME pickles."

I do not live in NYC so I'll need to order them on-line.

I just called the Deli and got hung up on by an angry woman after a quick "No. We don't sell pickles." The Deli's website is an animated unicorn.gif shy of looking like it was built by your kid sister.

I'm not looking for opinions about better pickles or delis (delii?), I'm looking for THOSE pickles.

I know they usually give you a couple of different kinds, so I'd need them all. I don't know from pickles so I don't even know what kind to look for.

posted by bondcliff to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

Response by poster: Oh yeah, and I only need a gallon or so. I don't want to buy the four gallon tubs from their plant wholesale, assuming they'd even sell them to me.
posted by bondcliff at 9:13 AM on December 1, 2005

That's strange, because the website you posted above specifically mentions that they sell pickles!
posted by reverendX at 9:19 AM on December 1, 2005

You may have missed it in all the flashing and scrolling (not being facetious; I didn't see it the first time myself,) but the scrolling marquee in the middle of the page on the Carnegie Deli site says Call the Deli direct to place a rush order. Don't forget the pickles! 1-800-334-5606. If that's the number you called before, I'd try calling again and asking for a manager. Good luck!
posted by headspace at 9:22 AM on December 1, 2005

maybe try calling again when it's not during the lunch rush.
posted by GregW at 9:23 AM on December 1, 2005

Response by poster: That's the number I called. The impression I got was that's the number to call when you want to order lunch.
posted by bondcliff at 9:27 AM on December 1, 2005

Response by poster: GregW, I called at 10:00 AM EST.
posted by bondcliff at 9:28 AM on December 1, 2005

This page lists a local number for their wholesale operation (201- 507-5557). You might want to try that.
posted by SteveInMaine at 9:32 AM on December 1, 2005

I sent e-mail to the wholesale place that SteveinMaine just offered the phone number for; haven't heard back yet, though. I'll let you know what they say.
posted by headspace at 9:37 AM on December 1, 2005

Well, we know they make their own pickles, because the banner in front of the restaurant in the photo says "We make our own pickles". So it's them or none. A good kosher half-done is worth the extra effort, though!

A few of things to consider: Get someone who is in New York to swing by and then ship them to you; or if you can order online only a four-gallon thingy, jar up a gallon of them and donate the rest to your local Food Not Bombs or similar; the wholesale menu lists two kinds of pickles ("green" and "sour"), so be sure to figure out which kind is THE SAME first.
posted by mendel at 9:59 AM on December 1, 2005

If you can't buy them in bulk directly from the deli, you might want to try Just Pickles. They have two Manhattan locations and seem to sell just about every type of pickle known to man.
posted by ducksauce at 10:12 AM on December 1, 2005

Best answer: I live three blocks from the Deli, and would be willing to play pickle intermediary if you can't figure out some other approach. My email's in the profile.
posted by thomascrown at 10:30 AM on December 1, 2005

Also - try Katz's Deli in NY. They ship from their website and have great pickles - but I don't know if they're EXACTLY the same.
posted by kdern at 2:24 PM on December 1, 2005

I just got the return e-mail- they only ship pickles to wholesale customers; the only way to get pickles from Carnegie is to come and pick them up there.

So, looks like thomascrown is gonna be your distributor of choice, bondcliff!
posted by headspace at 12:22 PM on December 2, 2005