There are a few things that Port Jefferson is known for: a beautiful harborside community, ice cream and hot sauce?
Wander into the Harbor Square Mall’s air conditioned hallway and the unmistakable site of hundreds of little bottles of hot sauce is sure to turn heads.
On most days there is an opportunity to taste some of the most tongue piecercing stuff on earth (after signing a release form, of course) at Pepperheads.
The New York Times recently reviewed three specialty stores on Long Island, including the village’s own reatail outlet for hot sauce connoisseurs.
According to the article, Bruce Passarelli, 60, of Setauket “inherited the Pepperheads store when he bought the Harbor Square Mall in 2005.”
“This time of year, mini-bottles of hot sauce and gift packs are in demand as stocking stuffers,” the paper reported.
Peppers of the pickled variety can be found, along with the more usual cucumbers, at Pickle Packin’ Papa, a modest storefront in Rocky Point. Although the sign has faded since it was first hung in 1985, there is no mistaking the two giant inflatable pickles with top hats hanging outside the door.
“That’s kind of like my trademark,” said Joy Glas, 58, of Coram, the owner.
Since Ms. Glas’s husband, Paul Alkes, died in 1991, Ms. Glas has managed the business on her own, selling and packing pickles on the premises during the week, and hawking them at local farmer’s markets and fairs on the weekends. “I yell, ‘Munch a crunchy pickle while you browse,’ “ she said, laughing. “They buy one and come back for a whole container before they leave.”
Ms. Glas makes six kinds of pickles, including full sour garlic dills and new cucumber dills; all are available for tasting in the store. She also carries fresh barrel sauerkraut, hot peppers and pickled eggs. One of Ms. Glas’s newer items is jalapeño pickles; she says the brine can be used in martinis or to add zing to a meatloaf.
Stu Greenberg, 58, of Coram, stopped by the store recently to buy his regular quart of sour garlic pickles.
“I’m from Brooklyn, and I’m old enough to remember the old, fresh-made, pickle-barrel pickles,” he said. “There’s just no way you would get a pickle like that from a supermarket.”
The atmosphere is less old-world charming and more sleekly stylish at the Crushed Olive in Huntington, where shoppers browse rows of elegant stainless-steel urns on dark wood tables. The six-month-old shop (with sister stores in Stony Brook and Hickory, N.C.) features 25 extra-virgin olive oils and 25 flavored balsamic vinegars on tap.
Mona Rossero, 60, the co-owner of the three Crushed Olive shops with her husband, Bob, 70, said, “When you can taste something before you buy, people are more apt to try different things.” The staff walks customers through the tasting process, suggesting combinations like French walnut oil and red apple balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing, or the addition of blood-orange olive oil to a brownie mix. Once selections are made, glass bottles (in 60-milliliter, 200-milliliter or 375-milliliter sizes) are filled, corked and heat-sealed.
The shop also carries a small selection of olive oil-based soaps, jellies, jams, mustards and jarred olives.
One recent afternoon, Larry Call, 62, a repeat customer from Old Bethpage, dipped a piece of French bread in a shallow plastic cup of cranberry-pear white balsamic vinegar to taste it, before settling on the organic Tuscan herb olive oil. “I’m just retired and I like to cook,” he said. “It’s fun to experiment.”
Where to Shop
Call ahead or check Web sites for hours, which vary widely.
PEPPERHEADS HOT SAUCES Harbor Square Mall, 134 Main Street, Port Jefferson; (631) 476-9236; pepperheads-hotsauces.com or tastewhatshot.com. Most hot sauces range from $3 to $12 for 5 fluid ounces, though some cost up to $100.
PICKLE PACKIN’ PAPA 593 Route 25A, Rocky Point; (631) 821-5595.
Full sour garlic dill pickles, $5 a quart; pickled jalapeños, $5 a pint.
THE CRUSHED OLIVE 278 Main Street, Huntington; (631) 423-1500. thecrushedolive.com. Also at 133 Main Street, Stony Brook; (631) 675-6266.
Most oils and vinegars cost $4.95 for two-ounce bottles; $13.99 to $19.99 for 200-milliliter bottles; and $16.99 to $22.99 for 375-milliliter bottles. Truffle oils are higher.
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