A two-week pickle festival returns to the Lower East Side

Originally published by TimeOut on May 29th, 2024

Written By Christina Izzo

It’s kind of a big dill.

It’s a pickle-lovers paradise: for two weeks next month, 2 Rivington Street will transform into a wonderland of half-sours, bread-and-butters, dilly cukes, cute cornichons and good ol’ gherkins. Yes, Grillo’s Pickles is back for their second annual pickle-themed pop-up on the Lower East Side, adding some vinegary pep to your summertime proceedings from Thursday, June 6 through Saturday, June 22.

From 11am to 7pm every day, the Boston-based brand will be hosting its Grillo’s Pickle World event featuring free food, limited-edition pickle merch, collaborations and more. On Friday, June 7, attendees can enjoy free burgers from West Village patty purveyor Burgerhead. The gratis grub continues the next day, Saturday, June 8, with free gourmet hot dogs from the supper club DM Dinners. And on Saturday, June 15, the shuckers from Island Creek Oysters will be serving up free, slurp-ready shellfish.

The kiddos will have their own pickle fun during designated family-friendly days on Sunday, June 9 and Sunday, June 16, during which pickle lovers of all ages can create their own pickle characters. An after-party at Ray’s Hometown Bar on Thursday, June 13 is more of an adult affair, with food, drinks and more from 6pm until late. And Chef Raphael Jacob Khutorsky will round things out on June 18 with a Taco Tuesday fiesta.

Along with all of the great grub, there will be pickle-centric collabs from brands such as Cheatin Snakes and artists including Adrianne Paerels (a.k.a. Hello Adrianne), Mike Lottie, Najeeb Shelkh, Nick Zaremba and more. Guests can expect a pickle-inspired mural by Jon Burgerman and a plushie wall created by John Scharbach, perfect for your next pickle-loving pic.