Walking into the A Taste of Olive from Kings Highway is like entering the shared home of a Tuscan cook, with its warm wood paneling and floors, and the vat room of a master microbrewer, with stainless steel drums lining the walls. The drums, fusti if you want to get technical, each hold a different one of the over 50 olive oil and vinegar flavors in store. It might seem intimidating but because the shop bottles and seals each customer’s pick right there on site, you can try each and every oil and vinegar available “on tap.” If you need assistance choosing the right pairing for your salad dressing just consult the “Perfect Match” menu with combos like “The Sicilian” with Basil Olive Oil and Fig Balsamic Vinegar or “The Chiffon” with Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar and Sweet Lemon Olive Oil.
As a condiment freak, a Taste of Olive is my enabler. We currently have 2 bottles in view on the counter and another 5 scattered among the cabinets and fridge. Past purchases include Coconut White Balsamic Vinegar and Blood Orange Olive Oil (great on fish), Espresso Balsamic Vinegar (amazing drizzled over blue cheese), and Red Apple Balsamic (going to try this one in a Mesclun salad next). On my latest visit two more vinegars found their way into my market basket–Lavender, a nice compliment to roast pork loin, and Vanilla, which will be a delicious accompaniment to baked Brie. I wish I could claim all the ideas for using A Taste of Olive’s products but the shop is nice enough to provide menu sheets so that you may look the part of innovative chef at your next cocktail party or holiday dinner.
Next time in I hope to expand my purchases to their tapenades, specialty salts, and assortment of Martini olives, but I would be lying if I said nothing from A Taste of Olive’s taps would be coming home with me.
A Taste of Olive in Haddonfield, NJ is the second of two locations with the first shop in West Chester bringing specialty olive oil, vinegar and other gourmet food finds to area residents. A third location in Ardmore, PA was slated to open in December 2010, but delays (no doubt partially attributed to this winter’s inclement weather) have pushed the project back a few months.
A Taste of Olive
106 Kings Highway East
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
856-795-0043
www.atasteofolive.com
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm
Sunday 11am-4pm
Colleen Wood, regional editor for Camden County, maintains her blog jerzEATS.com by making food discoveries and retrying old haunts in and around New Jersey. She loves a good deal and learning how to make restaurant dishes at home. After spending her college years up at Boston University earning her journalism degree, Colleen returned to our great state as a marketing assistant by day and dance teacher and restaurant enthusiast by night! A foodie by birth, Colleen credits her mother for her love of good food and talent in the kitchen, and hopes they’ll one day get to open a bake shop!
