Extra Virgin, An Olive Ovation
Lately I’ve been looking for a more full bodied olive oil with a a bit more spiciness than the Yellingbo I keep on hand. Shopping online, several times I’d had an oil in the cart ready to buy, but because some of the really fine olive oils cost considerably more than what I’m used to spending, I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger without knowing how it tasted.
The local solution to my dilemma of course is Extra Virgin, An Olive Ovation — cruising through Clayton yesterday I remembered to swing by and have a look.
As you would suspect, olive oil is the main event at Extra Virgin, but there are also cured olives, a selection of high end vinegars, olive tree made cooking utensils, and a few other kitchen related items for the cook with everything needing more.
Definitely the coolest thing about the store is the “tasting bar” where you can sample about 30 olive oils which represent almost every oil in the store. Laid out around a curved counter in what appear to be soap dispensers, it’s the first thing that hits you when you step in. The oils are arranged from lightest (left) to strongest (right), and owner Marianne Prey’s suggestion is to squirt two pumps into the small paper cups available and sling it back unadorned to appreciate the oils true flavor. If you find this a little overwhelming there is also bread for you to sample with, but I agree you won’t get the full effect this way.
As I sampled oils a couple women must have had stomachs of lead because I watched them throw back at least 3 tablespoons of olive oil a piece – very impressive! 120 calories per tablespoon aside, I couldn’t taste more than about one tablespoon worth before my stomach was starting to get a little shaky.
Fortunately I knew what I was looking for and was able to avoid about the first 20 oils from the get go. Ruling out a few more do to their expense, I sampled about five total and quickly settled on the DanDaragan Estate extra virgin olive oil. It has a really interesting fruity sweetness that hits you when you first take a sip; followed by a bit of that burning spiciness I was looking for in the finish.
Another oil I loved was Pons Primum Oleum. If you’re cooking for a family I highly recommend it, but do to its impressively large bottle, I knew I’d never get through it before it went bad. It does seem a little pricey, but considering it’s 1.5L and a normal bottle is only about 1/2L it’s not so bad.
Which brings me to another point: one of my main concerns about the store when I first heard it was opening was that, do to its location, the prices would need to be a little steep to pay for things like rent. At $28.50, the DanDaragan is certainly not a cheap olive oil, but a little Googling once home showed it was fairly priced. It was around $22 online before shipping.
Overall I’m still skeptical as to whether or not St. Louis will manage to sustain this store, but if like me you’ve always found it difficult to spend a lot of money on a bottle of olive oil you haven’t tasted, it’s worth a visit. It really is a neat store.
3 Responses to “Extra Virgin, An Olive Ovation”
I don’t know if you saw this article - kinda on-topic, kinda not - but anyway - about fraud in the olive oil trade from The New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller
By brooks on Nov 26, 2007
Thanks for sharing your experience. I hadn’t heard of that store, but I’m definitely going to check it out. I’m with you - I hope they can make it in STL, but I’m somewhat skeptical.
By Stef on Nov 26, 2007