When refrigeration wasn't widely available, pickling was a much more common method of preserving food. The pickled-food section of Beijing's Chongwenmen Caishi Chang displays a continuing fondness for briny flavors; so do many salad bars in Brighton Beach. Though it seemed to have plenty of takers, the watermelon didn't quite work; I much preferred the rind-only version from Grey Mouse Farm. On the other hand, pickling tarted up a golden delicious apple very much to my taste — normally I find them much too sweet — even if Odessa couldn't bother to peel off that little sticker.
Odessa
1113 Brighton Beach Ave. (14th-15th Sts.), Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
718-332-3223
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