We love to see businesses built around pickles, a staple food in many cultures. Peace Love Pickles, also known as Elsie’s, offers pickle food and drink products but their claim to fame is the pickle sandwich, substituting pickles for bread.
What is so special about Peace Love Pickles? Per their website, “Peace Love Pickles is a sandwich shop with no bread in the house. Every sandwich is constructed using our signature pickle, pickle roll up or cucumber roll up.” They are a sandwich shop that does not carry bread, not an easy thing to do but it has proven to be a winning formula.
In addition to the pickle sandwiches that have made the rounds on social media, picked up by Buzzfeed and other outlets, roll ups are offered in lieu of a typical sandwich. For those who can not bite the massive pickle sandwich, this is a great option.
Peace Love Pickles has multiple locations in New Jersey and an online store. You can find their menu and more at www.peacelovepickles.com.
The Sandwich
We visited the Peace Love Pickles location in Northfield, New Jersey. The sandwich we decided to test was their Jersey Devil sandwich, which is Sliced Turkey, American cheese, Siracha Mayo, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The Cheetos really added a nice touch, to the point that we highly recommend some type of crunchy topping on any sandwich. Next time we will be trying the Doritos.
If you choose to build your own sandwich, options range from ham to corned beef and lettuce to banana peppers. Crunchy addons include Doritos, Potato Chips, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. There are many sandwich recipe options to choose from so it is very likely you will find something you like before going the build your own option.
With any sandwich from Peace Love Pickles, you get what you pay for. They give healthy amounts of meat and toppings. The pickles are big, crunchy, and juicy. Some folks may have a hard time getting their mouth around the sandwich, which is a credit to their generosity with meat. Make sure you are hungry when you order.
While we kept this review to the sandwich, Peace Love Pickles has many other offerings.
Pickle Guts and Pickle Flights
A very unique offering, Pickle Guts are exactly what they sound like. This is a very clever way to avoid waste and use the whole pickle. In terms of everyday usage, this would be a great topping on hamburgers, tacos, or even uses the same as relish. Peace Love Pickle’s have a unique flavor and the guts will carry that over to whatever you use it for.
Pickle flight are exactly what they sound like. On their Facebook page they showcase dill speaks topped with Tajin seasoning, parmesan, everything bagel seasoning and housemade sriracha mayo. This is a low carb option and turns something that is usually a garnish into a meal. While we endorse Tajin as a regular go-to for jazzing up pickles, everything bagel seasoning is not something you hear about every day. In the world of pickles, we applaud experimenting with new flavors and ingredients.
Drinks and Brine
While selling pickles and maybe even brine is what you may expect from a business that primarily uses pickles in their products, you typically do not find them selling drink mixers. Peace Love Pickles offers their brine and mixers, including Bloody Mary, Pineapple, and Lime type offerings that all have a spicy kick. All of these products are packaged in 750ml bottles, similar to how you would expect a bottle of wine to be sold.
What makes these mixers unique is that they are all made with in house pickle brine. While you can drink the brine straight, we would recommend trying a pickle back with the brine. If you have never heard of the pickle back, it is a drink made famous in Brooklyn. Most folks chase a shot of whiskey with pickle juice. If you love pickles, you will love a pickle back.
Catering
Peace Love Pickles also offers party trays that can fulfill 7 to 10 different sandwiches, or roll ups. This is unique sandwich tray and a fantastic option if your group is avoiding bread for any reason. Although, if you are avoiding gluten specifically, you may want to skip certain ingredients (like the Doritos). Please let them know when you call if there are any allergy concerns for your party.
