Just in time for Opening Day, the...

...Times ran a piece yesterday in its Dining section about relish. As you can see from the photo above, this is something that we in Chicago take very seriously. 

The article says that relish is "not commonly used by chefs" and is "often relegated to the bottom shelf in supermarkets." Relish, the writer says: 

... is like a small-market team that is overlooked and always out of contention — say, the Pittsburgh Pirates of condiments. 

To which I say, "Wha-a-a-t???" 

But wait; it gets worse: 

“We don’t have any relish whatsoever,” said Aimee Carlin, a bartender and server in Pasadena, California, who explained that the topping is “not typical — at least not for Southern California.”

Yeah, well, that's California.

Even Brooklyn, where the locals are pickling everything in sight, can seem at times like a relish wasteland. Take Dubuque, in Carroll Gardens, which serves fancy patties stuffed with pesto, heaped with brisket or spritzed with truffle oil. How about a burger topped with relish?

“I never even thought about relish,” said the chef, Mark Shenk.

Ugh!

Finally,

Ed Levine, founder of the culinary Web site Serious Eats, says relish gets no respect in the food world, “I think sweet relish has become the forgotten condiment.”

Shut your mouth, Ed!

While we denizens of the Second City prefer our relish in the not-so-natural color of neon green, above, allow me to put in a good word for Wickles, below, which I discovered at my local Dominick's. 

(And by the way -- Shhh! Don't tell anybody -- it's from Alabama.)