Salty Soured Pickled Rye Bread - Carissa's Bakery's, East Hampton, NY
For the first time in her life, Vodka has ventured to the wilds of the Hamptons to see and taste the East End institutions and cuisines which Ina Garten calls home.
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| Can't You Just Picture Ina Sending Jeffrey Out to Fetch One of These Concoctions? |
One such location is Carissa's Bakery, though Alex Guarnaschelli is the one who featured the place on Best Thing I Ever Ate for their KEY INGREDIENT episode.
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| Unfortunately, Ina's Mini-Cooper Was Not in the Parking Lot |
The key ingredient in Carissa's case is pickle, as Alex's chosen dish is the salty soured pickled rye bread. Except when Vodka goes about actually ordering this concoction, she cannot come up with its name, and says to (the person she can only guess is Carissa herself), "Do you have that pickle loaf?"
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| This Kind of Classy Ordering Style is the Reason the Hamptons Don't Welcome Us |
Along with the loaf, Vodka and her parents are at Carissa's for breakfast, so we order three bacon and egg sandwiches, three lattes, and said hunk of bread. The total for this breakfast comes to... wait for it....
$108.
$108!!!!!
Is Ina herself hand-curing these pickling liquids as a favor to Carissa?! Because we cannot for the life of us come up with why the total FOR BREAKFAST is so astronomical.
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| Do You Know How Many McDonald's Hashbrowns We Could Buy for $108?! |
Price aside, the sandwiches in question are good, if not worth $57 a piece (give or take a few pennies).
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| Sandwiches in Photo May Feature More Collard Greens Than Originally Advertised |
In truth, they are mostly filling spread heavily on two enormous slices of sourdough and topped with one fried egg and a few slices of bacon. The lattes, in contrast, are truly delectable, and wind up being the highlight of this morning excursion.
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| Perhaps Carissa's Should Rebrand as a Barista Training Ground |
Onto the subject at hand, the pickle bread is delivered warmed out out of the oven, and, sans an available knife, Vodka begins hacking into it with her fingertips.
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| A More Elegant Slice Which Survived Vodka Tearing the Loaf to Shreds |
At first, it is fairly pleasing - after all, this blog has rarely met a pickle, or pickle-flavored item, it did not enjoy. The interior of the loaf is incredibly spongy and chewy, while the top, with a generous (some would say "too generous") helping of caraway seeds, has a firmer bite.
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| If Pickles Had Yeast |
This bread may be just the ticket for making a sandwich when there is a dearth of pickles available, but other than that, Vodka can't quite figure out what it complements best. Back at home, she tried it alongside chicken noodle soup (it got lost) and morning eggs (it was just... odd), and it felt like too strong of a flavor to pair easily with other foods (after a day away from the warmth of Carissa's oven, it is the caraway seeds, and not the pickle, that prove to be the most potent).
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| You Know What Would Work Better than Caraway Seeds? Everything Bagel Seasoning. You're Welcome, Carissa's |
In sum, Carissa's Bakery served as a suitable introduction to the Hamptons, if mostly because every place Vodka ventured afterwards seemed downright cheap in comparison. Based on their display of sweets, it appears that, despite Alex Guarnaschelli's recommendation, it may be their pastries that are actually something to write home about.
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| A Real Toss-Up as to Which Is More Eye-Catching: This or... the Pickle Bread |
And isn't that just the pickle.
Carissa's Bakery's Salty Soured Pickled Rye Bread: 3 stars
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