Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegars

I really would like to start getting into more oil and vinegars and was wondering if I could get some input on a few things...

1) Suggestions, what is your favorite oil/vinegar to dip, use in dressings etc as well as your fav to cook with.

2) Is there anywhere in the city that they have tastings...I was at the NY and Chi Fancy Food shows and got to try some wonderful oils and vinegars (tried an 80 year old balsamic...wow,) and I know of restaurants and stores in NY that have tastings, anyone know of anything here?

There's a store exclusive to your request at Old Orchard Mall called Oil & Vinegar, you can taste pretty much anything there.

There is another Oil and Vinegar downtown at 619 N. State, Chicago, IL 60610. Phone: 312-573-9228.

I've been there and haven't been impressed - honestly, I can't remember why. Perhaps it was because the oils were not stored away from light (in fact they had a light source directly behind the bottles).

Fox and Obel also has a large selection of oils and vinegars that you can taste. They are at the corner of Illinois an McClurg. See http://www.fox-obel.com/index.asp

Yeah, the tasting bar at Fox & Obel is a great way to get a sense for the variety of flavors out there.

Like a lot of people here, I'm sure, I usually keep at least two different bottles of olive oil-- one for basic everyday use like frying, and a little nicer one for finishing, things where you'll really taste the oil, etc. Usually for the basic one I've been perfectly happy with the Costco vintage-dated olive oil (comes in a squarish glass bottle), which was talked about here originally by MrBarolo. Reasonably priced, nice neutral flavor, a good all purpose oil which is probably fresher than most you see on shelves. At the moment, though, I'm out and using something Whole Foods was pushing called Girardi, from Greece. It's okay and was cheap, but not that special. Another one I've bought and liked for this purpose at its price, recommended here originally by LAZ somewhere in this thread which you should read, is Lucini.

For the nicer one, at the moment I have called Badia a Coltibuono, which I bought at Convito Cafe & Market because I needed something a little spicier for use with chocolate-- no really, you can see the dessert at the end of this post. I picked this just because it was one of the few whose label referenced a spicy character; it's actually just got a hint of that and no more, but it worked fine with the chocolate and has been pleasing wherever else I've used it.

Not certain, although some memory is fighting inside my head to get out...you may want to check out City Olive on Clark in Andersonville. Something tells me that they have/will have/hope to have tastings of both olives oils and vinegars.

City Olive
5408 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60640
p. 773.878.5408

One place to look for "everyday" olive oil is the market at the Pita Inn in Skokie. The Pita Inn is a wonderful Middle Eastern restaurant (see links below). The market is a retail shop next door to their Dempster restaurant. I think the olive oil used at the restaurant is very good, so I asked for it at the market next door. I don't remember the name, but it came in a gallon can and was too large for my needs. The guy recommended another Turkish olive oil -- whose name escapes me now -- that I really like. More generally, they have a large selection of everyday oils from Europe and the Middle East and a pretty knowledgeable staff. But no tastings as far as I know. And the best pita bread I've ever had...

Pita Inn Market and Bakery
3924 Dempster St.
Skokie, IL 60076
847-675-0025
http://www.pita-inn.com/

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=2185

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2012

there is also a place in Long Grove.

The Olive Tap
308 Old McHenry Road
Long Grove, Illinois 60047

Telephone: (888) 642-5472 (Toll-Free)

I worked for Convito many years ago, in addition to an ongoing general interest in oil. In no particular order, here are various bits of fact, opinion, and, quite possibly dementia, which may be useful.

Overall, Tuscan oils tend to be characterized as "spice" or "peppery" whereas Umbrian oils tend to be heavier bodied, intense, and unctuous.
Of course there are oils from everywhere else, and I don't remember any particular stereotypes pertaining to them (Sicilian, Apulian, etc.).

French and Spanish oils tend to be much lighter in body than the classic Italian oils.
I like Greek Kalamata oils for everyday.
I also like a lot of the California oils, but they tend to be no less expensive than many of the imported, even though one would imagine there is less shipping and other costs involved. One can at least hope that they may be somewhat fresher.

Storage and age really matter, and it's very hard to have on opinion about a producer without having any idea how the product has been treated before you buy it. Heat and light being the great enemies, as with wine and even beer. When I see the great olive oil shelf displays in "gourmet" stores, sitting right in the window with the sun streaming through, I want to throttle someone.

As has been mentioned in other threads, Costco sells 2 tiers of very nice everyday oil. One, the lesser, in a very large (2 ltr?) plastic jug. The other .750?, in the typical square glass bottle. They great thing about this one is that it is actually dated by harvest on the label. So, you know that you're getting oil a year or less old. I suspect many pricey bottles on gourmet store shelves are anywhere from 1-3 yrs old. Not necessarily rancid, but certainly no longer fresh and fruity.

Also, depending on your location, Treasure Island always has at least 1-2 oils open for tasting.

FWIW, there was a very dispiriting article within the last month, I believe, in The New Yorker, on olive oil fraud. That sort of throws the whole game up for grabs, as with the great French Burgundy scandals of decades past.

The first wonderful oil I ever tasted was an Umbrian oil called Mancianti. There were 2-3 different "cuvess" of it. Even 20+ yrs. ago it was around $25 per jar. This was courtesy of Erwin Dreschler all the way back in his Bentley's Wine Bar days.

L'Appetito (2 locations, one in the plaza with the Hancock bldg, the other a bit west on Huron or Ontario?) -- stocks a nice variety of oils, including a particular line that lists harvest dates and exact regions.

Another brand I've enjoyed are the Riviera oils, distinctive for wrapping their bottles in either gold or silver foil. In addition to added light protection, I believe there is some quality code in the foil color, but I don't know exactly what it is. These tend to be very flowery, fruity oils in my experience.

Antica Abbazia is also a lighter oil, reasonably priced, that I've enjoyed.

Enjoy. Report.

mrbarolo wrote:Another brand I've enjoyed are the Riviera oils, distinctive for wrapping their bottles in either gold or silver foil. In addition to added light protection, I believe there is some quality code in the foil color, but I don't know exactly what it is. These tend to be very flowery, fruity oils in my experience.

Are you sure you don't mean Raineri? I don't think the Riviera oils use foil. The silver foil Raineri, on the other hand, is my everyday oil.

mrbarolo wrote:FWIW, there was a very dispiriting article within the last month, I believe, in The New Yorker, on olive oil fraud. That sort of throws the whole game up for grabs, as with the great French Burgundy scandals of decades past.

Letter from Italy: Slippery Business -- The trade in adulterated olive oil.

Dom and OP,
Absolutely right. I meant Rainieri. Was typing fast and at work. Something felt faintly wrong even as I typed, but I just charged ahead. Thanks for the catch.
Catch me again, if I'm wrong, but I think Rainieri is Ligurian oil, and that is another prized region along with Tuscany and Umbria.

mrbarolo wrote:Dom and OP,
Absolutely right. I meant Rainieri. Was typing fast and at work. Something felt faintly wrong even as I typed, but I just charged ahead. Thanks for the catch.
Catch me again, if I'm wrong, but I think Rainieri is Ligurian oil, and that is another prized region along with Tuscany and Umbria.

No excuses necessary. A simple mix-up. Just figured I'd point it out to aid the OP's search. Probably also worth noting that Raineri is not to be confused with Rainieri, of which I'm none too fond

And you're correct, Raineri is Ligurian.

City Olive does have oil and vinegar tastings. I really enjoyed their Pear Balsalmic vinegar. They stock Castelas, a french olive oil, that is a favorite finishing oil of mine. It's grassy and slightly peppery and the production date is labeled on the bottle.

checked out oil and vinegar this weekend...left with an iffy feeling. I do suggest if you walk by that you stop in, but it is not worth it to make an effort to get there. They were very helpful and nice (PS the light behind the olive oils was specially designed and doesn't emit heat or UV. For those that haven't been they have a bunch of finishing sauces, oils, vinegars, and containers and such. The main attraction it seems is that they make their own oils and vinegars and you pick (read: buy) a container and then pick a flavor and fill it (then from then on you just pay for the refill.)

The great thing is you can try all of the oils & vinegars (20ish)...the downside was I wasn't too impressed. She wasn't sure how old the oil wa, but "thought" it was fairly recent. I wasn't a fan of the flavored balsamics (the berries were too sweet and it just seemed that the vinegar wasn't aged enough.) I liked the basil olive oil the best (it tasted like freshly picked basil) and a small container of that was $8 (4 for the glass 4 for the oil.) The white truffle was very good as well, but the others were just meh.

Will continue my search...

Does anyone know where to buy the real stuff---aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena?

I know that Fox and Obel carries it, but I am curious if there are any other places in the Chicago area who stock it.

MelissaBaldwin wrote:Does anyone know where to buy the real stuff---aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena?

I know that Fox and Obel carries it, but I am curious if there are any other places in the Chicago area who stock it.

It's in the food section at Sam's as well.

The Williams-Sonoma - in the Oakbrook Mall at least - has an extensive oilve-oil tasting bar, with chunks of bread provided. Believe there's usually some vinegars, too.

If you're out west, The Olive Mill in Geneva has dozens of varities for tasting, and knowledgable discussion, and printed, detailed descriptions of each oil to put on the bottles you buy. They are located on James Street, just off Third Street - the main tourist shopping drag - immediately north and across the street from the Courthouse.

According to their bottle label, they get their oils from Delizia Olive Oil Co. Wonder if the CEO of that looks anything like Marlon Brando?