Other States Don't Understand Why Texans Love This Movie Theater Snack
By Anna Gallegos
July 22, 2021
If you go to any movie theater in Texas, 9 times out of 10 pickles will be on sale at the concession stands right next to the popcorn and candy.
Some places are old school and will sell dill pickles from a giant jar, but most places will give you an individually packaged pickle in its own bag of brine. Hardcore fans will even throw a pickle on top of their popcorn for an extra salty kick.
Whatever the form, movie theater pickles are truly a Texas treat. Most native Texans don't find out its a regional specialty until they leave the state.
Recently found out that they sell jumbo pickles in Texas movie theaters but AFAIK not really anywhere else. I am the pickle spouse so I was distraught when I tried to buy a pickle at an east coast movie theater and they did not know what I was talking about.
— •METONYMY• (@metonymy0) July 19, 2021
I live in DC and I asked for a pickle at the movie theater and they looked at me like I was crazy. https://t.co/3z3SAMx6MB
— mj (@maiah_jurado) April 14, 2019
Non-Texans can't wrap their heads around the idea of a movie theater pickle.
Strangest concession I've ever seen at a movie theater. A pickle in a bag. pic.twitter.com/1fxLVH2PJQ
— Marc Hochman (@MarcHochman) July 8, 2016
If you order a pickle at a movie theater in Delaware you will be laughed at and looked at strangely.
— Texas Nate (@tx_nate) April 27, 2019
Well back at you biiiiiitch, stay missing out on it! I hope you never know what jalapeños with popcorn is either!
So were does this unconventional movie theater treat come from?
Immigrants may have something to do with it. German and other Eastern European settlers brought pickles with them when they put down roots in Texas in the mid-1800s, and pickles became a part of the state's cuisine, according to the San Antonio Express News.
Pickles at the movies at least dates back to the 1950s, the Dallas Morning News reported. A paper from the 1957 hints that theater pickles came from Germany, where it was popular to eat during shows.
Movie theater pickles have stuck around since then. You can occasionally find theater pickles in other southern states, but it's something that northern states haven't adopted and they're really missing out.