Jacob's Pickles, NYC

Jacob's Pickles is a relatively well known small chain in New York that offers up kinda basic comfort food, Southern style.  The original location opened in 2011 on the Upper West Side.  Like anywhere popular these days it seems, brunch is a big draw.  They've expanded to have smaller takeout only outposts at the TimeOut Market in Brooklyn, and at Moynihan Train Hall, which is the location I visited.

Setting - Moynihan

The Moynihan location is in a food court alongside a few other business, all fast food style. 

Train Station Location.

There is clear signage displaying the reduced menu, and you order at the register (or mobile ordering).  The line seems to move quite slowly, so I do recommend just mobile ordering.  You wait for order to appear on the counter, which also seems to occur slowly, a surprise given that I'd expect some percentage of guests are in a rush due to train station location?  There is shared seating with the other establishments, no actual dedicated dining area for Jacob's Pickles.

Cuisine

This location has a pretty small menu, mostly just fried chicken, fries, and mac and cheese.  Well, and pickles of course.

Soft Serve!

I was there to try their brand new soft serve ice cream (because you know how much I love my ice cream, particularly soft serve!). Interestingly, this product is offered only here at this location.  They offer two flavors, only in dishes, no toppings.  But the flavors are noteworthy enough on their own ...

Pickle Ice Cream (Vegan). Sample.

First up, the one that definitely gets the most attention:  pickle.  Yes, pickle soft serve.  This *is* Jacob's Pickles after all! 

For some reason, they made this flavor also vegan (I'm not sure what the base is).  I asked to sample it first, as you can see here.  I'm glad I did.

I like pickles.  I like soft serve.  Turns out, I do NOT like pickle soft serve!  Intense pickle flavor and just truly not enjoyable to consume, at least for me.  I tried a few licks, and yeah, just wow, not for me.  The pickle flavor was intense though, I gotta give them that. 1/5.

Popcorn Ice Cream. $6.

"Topped with Pink Himalayan Salt."

So I went for the popcorn flavor, this one is real (dairy) ice cream.  This one was considerably better.  Good sweetness level, super creamy, slightly buttery and salty, a kind of fun flavor for sure.  It didn't necessarily scream "popcorn" to me, but, it was enjoyable enough, and a sorta different flavor.  It was supposed to come sprinkled with pink salt, but mine did not (I watched it dispensed from the machine, nothing added).

 3.5/5.