To Dine or Not to Dine

This weeks featured restaurant - The Pickle Patch, San Andreas

Eclectic with a bohemian flair.

Since there is no foot traffic to speak of near the Pickle Patch, I cannot use the excuse that I tried this restaurant because of my exhaustion from 'touristing' - (shopping). So I will stick to the facts.
While attending a beautiful garden wedding I sampled some light fare and was pleasantly surprised at the non-traditional wedding spread. There was no shrimp swimming in cocktail sauce, no unidentifiable pastries fried golden brown, no, there was a colorful and creative display of culinary delights that I had never seen...nor heard of. Well with my curiosity piqued...I sampled them all! Of course I did this under the guise of filling a plate for my husband and one for myself..though he never saw his plate:)



Within a few weeks I was invited to go to lunch at the Pickle Patch, finally I was blessed with an excuse to go all the way to San Andreas, not exactly the 'hub' of metropolis. My first thought upon entering the Pickle Patch was...hmmm...'50's dinner meets Berkeley with a little country deli thrown in. Not daunted by the lack of any particular decor I grabbed a menu hanging from a rake nailed to the wall. Can you say 'eclectic'?

While many of the mainstays of deli style shops were present, ie: turkey sandwiches and BLT's, there was an odd selection of daily specials that certainly were created with a more nutritional flair...lots of sprouts and things of that sort, a sort of flow with the garden name of the restaurant (lots of vegetarian fare.) Again I plowed on, and I must say I am happy I did. With Thanksgiving a distant memory my stomach growled at the thought of a turkey and cranberry sandwich. Taking my little number to my table and filling my glass of ice with a soda from the glass front refrigerator I patiently awaited my meal.

Choosing to sit outside on a rather cool morning, the covered deck with tall propane heaters provided the perfect 'I'm dining outside' feeling without the chattering teeth, and a breathtaking view of their beautifully manicured garden. When my sandwich arrived it was literally so full of turkey I had to press it down to fit a bite in my mouth. Fresh sliced turkey on sourdough so fresh it stuck to the roof of my mouth and just the right amount of cranberry. YUM!

Not sure why the portions seem to be so big at the restaurants here in the foothills, but I am not complaining! I went home full and had enough left over for dinner.

So, in the interest of reviewing this restaurant well, I felt I needed to dine there again..and again. Each time I was rewarded with the same large portions, the same cheerful service and prices within my budget. The only thing that I have yet to enjoy are their soups. Maybe its me but I tend to think of potato soup as creamy, it wasn't. I tend to think of bean soup as rich, it wasn't. But again, if you are looking for an amazing deli sandwich, you may just want to swing on by... go slow or you may miss it.

P.S. They usually have police cars, fire engines or county cars out front, this is not a crime scene, this is where those with discernible palates dine in San Andreas.

By, Charity Maness

W. St Charles Street San Andreas.  209-754-1978
http://www.picklepatchdeli.com/


  (My little disclaimer:  'To dine or not to dine' is meant to be a helpful - and humorous - informational piece only. I receive no monetary compensation for this column nor do I endorse any one eatery. This is simply my opinion. My tastes will be different from others and I readily admit that I have no culinary background, but I am pretty confident I know when food is cooked correctly or not, whether a drink is poured well or not and especially whether wait staff is first-rate or in need of a career change.)