What’s the dill with pickles and drinks?
It’s not just the rise of the pickleback – a dive-bar favorite combining a shot of bourbon followed by a shot of pickle juice that has been growing in popularity since its reported 2006 invention. Pickles seem to be having a moment, popping up increasingly in and near our beverages.
Pickle juice has long been a cult favorite of endurance athletes, some of whom swear by its cramp-prevention powers (though the data is less conclusive). Then, this past April Fool’s Day, the trend went mainstream at corporate food chains. Popeyes debuted chilled and slushy versions of its pickle lemonade, a surprisingly refreshing drink, sweet with a funky bread-and-butter pickle tang to it. And Dutch Bros. joined in, launching a short-lived pickleback Rebel energy drink.
Today, though, you don’t have to head to your nearest Popeyes or chug a dive bar pickleback to get your pickle fix (though you’re certainly welcome to). Try these two Bay Area bars specializing in pickles — and fermented goods more broadly — instead.
Little Bird, Oakland
The bar Little Bird opened in downtown Oakland in the winter of 2024 under the same owners as Berkeley’s Acme Bar & Company.(Colin Peck)
A bird-themed bar? Whose only food is “custom pickles”? Sure, why not — it’s Oakland.
In November, Little Bird opened downtown in the former spot of the grimy treasure, Radio Bar. The late-night operation has updated the dive with primary colors that recall the plumage of macaws. There are also hanging, handmade bird cages, and hidden throughout the space birds painted in hidden places like a “visual scavenger hunt,” according to Jennifer Seidman, owner of Berkeley’s Acme Bar & Company.
The signature martini at Little Bird in Oakland, featuringvodka or gin with a custom-made dill-pickle brine and custom pickle-slice garnish. (Adahlia Cole/Colin Peck/Little Bird)
Seidman consulted on the bar’s redesign for new owners Alfredo Botello, Trevor Latham and Tim Tolle. Folks who’ve been to Acme might recall Seidman’s penchant for pairing whiskey with picklebacks. The briny theme is continued at Little Bird, whose food offerings are pickles from Golden State Pickle Works. (Customers can also bring in their own grub.)
Pickles permeate the menu, appearing as garnishes and mixers with pickle juice. There are plans for to-go pickles and a complimentary happy-hour pickle bar.
Little Bird serves craft cocktails, local beer, California wine and zero-proof options that include a “Green Roots” with green bean-rutabaga brine and fish sauce and a “Caesar Caesar!” with Clamato, yellow pepper-brine, lemon and Worcestershire. The cocktails are — bucawk! — themed around avian species, like a “Birds Of Paradise” with gin or vodka, pomegranate liqueur and lime cordial and a “Murder” (of crows) that’s a martini made black with squid ink.
The bar has a mezzanine that can be reserved for groups of 15 or more, for free, and also a happy hour every day from 4-6 p.m. Perhaps a callback to its divey history, there are also beer-and-shot specials for $10.
Details: Open daily from 4 p.m.-2 a.m. at 435 13th St., Oakland; littlebirdbar.com.
Fox Tale Fermentation Project, San Jose
Wendy, left, and Felipe Bravo, right, opened Fox Tale Fermentation Project in downtown San Jose in 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
When you walk through the doors of San Jose’s Fox Tale Fermentation Project, two words that spring to mind are friendly and funky. The cozy, colorful space, decked out in work by local artists, pairs creative beers with an array of fermented concoctions, including several kimchi and sauerkraut varieties.
Plant-forward menu items abound, like the hearty and filling funk bowl ($17), featuring purple jasmine rice, seasonal vegetables, black chickpeas, avocado and one of the shop’s signature ferment options. (Note: Fermentation is one method of pickling an ingredient; the other is soaking it in vinegar.)
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Owners Wendy and Felipe Bravo opened their nanobrewery in 2022, and since then have served up an array of creative craft brews, including their flagships: Viva Cultura, a Floriani red corn lager, and a West Coast pilsner called Hell Yeah, Brother! Their rotating taps showcase their experimental side, from Whirling Wind, a Berliner Weisse-style sour ale brewed with African fonio grain, to Loose Leaf, a farmhouse ale made with fig leaves and osmanthus flowers.
Rosie’s Margarita; fermented nopales syrup, Jamaica Damaina, lime and agave, at the Fox Tale Fermentation Project in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
They’ve also got a wide array of mocktail, tea and kombucha options on offer — including sips like the Cucurbit Contemplation ($10), made with sage tea, lemon juice and fermented Blue Hubbard squash syrup; and Rosie’s Margarita ($8), blending hibiscus, fermented nopales syrup, damiana and lime.
Details: Open from noon-9 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday and noon-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. at 30 E. Santa Clara St., Suite 120, San Jose; foxtalefermentationproject.com.