Town Talk Diner frickles: 100 Favorite Dishes

As a countdown to the Best of the Twin Cities 2010, coming this spring, The Hot Dish is serving up a hundred of our favorite local dishes. Send your own nominations to hotdish@citypages.com.

No. 49: Town Talk Diner frickles

Watch out, State Fair. Town Talk Diner's frickles are coming for you. Come summer, you've got competition, and while these little guys may not have fancy accoutrements like cheese curds, the Zipper, and laboring barn animals to flank them, they offer a pretty compelling reason on their own to forgo your giant tractors and Swedish egg coffee. Plus, hello alcoholic milkshakes! Frickles--that'd be fried pickles--don't look like typical fried foods, which arrive essentially in their own shape but with a shiny, batter-dipped skin. Frickles look more like a cross between baby empanadas and clams--greasy, inflated puffs tanned deep Coppertone brown in the fryer with pickle edges visible in varying degrees around their midsections. The house pickles are thin and smooth, with a vinegary, kimchi tang, and the nanosecond of air time you catch with each bite makes the ultimate, pickly, crunch that much more satisfying. The house dill mustard that comes with an order is good enough to eat on its own. Frickles: all the greasy perfection you've come to expect from the State Fair with none of the long lines, gnarly smells, and prize sheep.

Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:

No. 100: Volcano Salad at Tiger Sushi
No. 99: Eclair at Butter
No. 98: Moussaka at Gardens of Salonica
No. 97: "Flappers" at Colossal Cafe
No. 96: Bento Box at Obento-Ya
No. 95: Sausage, salami, onion, and green olive pizza at Black Sheep
No. 94: Crab Cake at the Kitchen
No. 93: Passion fruit cake at Pardon My French
No. 92: Kafé 421 Signature Dips
No. 91: Lutefisk at Landmarc Grill
No. 90: May Day Cafe Croissant
No. 89: Dowjic at Babani's
No. 88: Osso Bucco at the Modern Cafe
No. 87: Chef Shack Hot Dog
No. 86: Adult Mac & Cheese at Good Day Cafe
No. 85: Ropa Vieja at Victor's
No. 84: French Toast of the Dead at Chino Latino
No. 83: Uni at Origami
No. 82: Bagel at Common Roots
No. 81: Jasmine Deli's bánh mì
No. 80: Pho 79's bò cuốn lá nho
No. 79: Sweets Bakeshop's Kettlecorn Cupcake
No. 78: D'Amico Kitchen's Chicory Salad
No. 77: Be'wiched Deli pastrami sandwich
No. 76: La Grassa's lima bean appetizer
No. 75: Bulldog NE Tater Tots
No. 74: Pop's Swedish Meatballs
No. 73: Hot Plate's Caramel Apple French Toast
No. 72: Grand Cafe's Ham and Cheese
No. 71: Galactic Pizza's Thailander
No. 70: Jackson's milk chocolate gelato
No. 69: Patrick's Bakery and Cafe's tiramisu
No. 68: Punch's Chopped Italian Salad
No. 67: Red Stag's Smelt Fries
No. 66: Mancini's Grilled Garlic Bread
No. 65: Uptown Bulldog's Chicago Dog
No. 64: Crema Cafe's Sorbet Spritzer
No. 63: Matt's Bar Jucy Lucy
No. 62: Baker's Wife Doughnut
No. 61: Bar Abilene Guacamole
No. 60: St. Paul Cheese Shop Cheesemonger
No. 59: Fasika Vegi Sampler
No. 58: Sen Yai Sen Lek Lettuce Wrap
No. 57: Saffron Mini Lamb BLT
No. 56: Dominguez Family Restaurant Green Salsa
No. 55: D'Amico Bottomless Glass of Wine
No. 54: Pizza Luce Spinach Salad
No. 53: Barbette's Mussels
No. 52: New Scenic Cafe's Triple Berry Pie
No. 51: Birchwood Cafe's Cobbler
No: 50: Tanpopo's Mackerel Teishoku