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| - When my BFF when on a rave about this "olive oil place" that she had found, I thought to myself... hmmm sounds interesting, but I certainly wasn't breaking any speed limits to get there. And yet today I barely had one foot in the door when I realized the error of my dismissive ways! It wasn't that I didn't know these things existed. Quite contraire. But until now there was no place on the west side that one could do tastings and pairings. This is essential if you are a little obsessive about cooking.
I don't even quite know where to begin except to say that I seriously had to control my urge to buy one of each. And as the lovely couple that owns the establishment was packing up my case (yes I said case), I decided that this was potentially a dangerous place for me to frequent.
They have a selection of both nine plain - which is sort of a misnomer as you can make your selection from mild to robust flavors - and twelve flavored oils. Flavored oils that made the cut today were the all natural buttered which I have already lightly drizzled over steamed veggies and had I not known, would have thought I was being overly sinful. The owner suggested a light sprinkle over pop corn and I am SO there with her on that one! The next up was basil. Fresh and herby - the mix of the crisp OO combined with the sweet smoothness of the basil... well let's just say yum! Garlic was the third one that made its way in to the box. This EVOO will be a staple in lightly flavoring the pan on anything Mediterranean or Italian that passes across my stove top. The organic Tuscan herb is the obvious choice for dipping either crudites or crusty bread - this one is so popular they were temporarily out, so I was only able to sample. Trust me - I will be back for this one! The final oil that came home was the one of the three specialty oils. I chose the toasted almond. This one is a couple of dollars more, but wow! This would be phenomenal for a healthier baking substitute, any kind of salad with a nutty flair, fruit... I swear you could drizzle this on ice cream.
And that leads me to the balsamics. They have 11 flavored traditional reds, 4 whites, and 3 specialties. Today I picked up the strawberry to pair with the basil OO. Sprinkle this combination over some watermelon with mint and no one will be able to resist you! I snagged the white cranberry pear for it's tart start with a sweet finish. I can't wait to use this in my fall recipes and have already started working up ideas for holiday meals that will star this little number. The dark chocolate is going to be perfect with strawberries and I'm pretty sure when paired with the toasted almond oil will be sublime.
When all was said and done, I had filled up the better part of a case and had a smile from ear to ear. Now looking back at their website I am kicking myself for not having tried at least 4 other items. I will have to settle for creating my own combinations of flavors until I return to add to the collection.
The best part of all of this is that is is actually reasonably priced for the quality, quite a decent value when you consider that you will be using teaspoons (or at most a tablespoon) to produce huge flavors, and is a vast improvement health-wise as a substitute for more traditional alternatives.
They have a punch card program that earns your free products and are open 7 days a week. I dearly hope people try this place and keep it afloat. It is without a doubt, my new crush!
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