by Jack Firneno for The Midweek Wire⋅ April 1, 2014 ⋅
Jessica Joyner motioned toward some of the fusties on the far end of the room. Most of the shop is filled with these steel containers with nozzles so customers can sample different products. Next to each are bottles to buy.
“These are aged 12 or 18 years, and then flavor-infused,” she explained.
But she’s not talking about fine scotch or wine. These particular fusties contain balsamic vinegar — the kind you can use to drizzle on your dessert.
However, most of them in the store contain olive oil, including a kind that Joyner and her colleague Sharon Lee like to put on their popcorn.
Nestled in a cozy cluster of shops on Huntingdon Pike, Olive Lucy specializes in almost 60 different ultrapremium, flavor-infused olive oils and vinegars. It’s a growing trend, one that combines gourmet taste with heart-healthy food choices.
“It’s becoming more popular, it’s part of the Mediterranean diet,” said Lee. “Some people drink a little bit of olive oil straight each day for health reasons.”
Part of that popularity has to do with the oil’s versatility. The line that tastes like butter and goes on the staff’s popcorn tastes uncannily like the real thing.
But it’s still just olive oil, combined with other plants to achieve the taste without the calories or cholesterol.
Similar are the blood orange olive oil and chocolate balsamic vinegars, which Joyner and Lee said work well as substitute ingredients or garnish, respectively, for treats like brownies. And for dinners or dipping, the flavors range from cayenne pepper to wild mushroom and sage.
“It’s neat to see what you can do with them,” said Lee. “I’m slowly collecting them all.”
Not all the products are so far removed from what people usually expect olive oil to taste like. However, noted Joyner, the tastes are more “complex,” like the basil, garlic or tuscan oils where the added ingredients are strong and very distinct.
If Joyner and Lee sound like experts, it’s because they’re quickly becoming connoisseurs. But, both admit they didn’t have much interest before coming to work at the shop back when it opened late last year.
Olive Lucy stores olive oils and vinegars in metal frusties so visitors can sample the many different flavors.
The passion comes from Harold Kaytes, owner of Olive Lucy. An amateur chef and former business owner, the 67-year-old opened his new shop.
“I got pretty creative with cooking, and realized the quality of a good olive oil and balsamic vinegar,” he said. “When company would come for dinner, they’d say I should open a restaurant.”
Kaytes wasn’t about to take on a project that big. “This was the next best thing,” he noted. “It’s neat to have a store where you can come in and taste them all.”
And, his creativity matches the imagination behind the many flavors of oils the store sells. Kaytes said it’s fun for him to create all the little extras in the store, like gift packages, and gourmet pastas and chocolate bars to go with the different flavors.
That effort also extended to his handpicked staff. “It was important to me to find people who could work the same way I would,” he explained. “We joke around a lot, but we’re also very serious about what they sell.”
It all adds up to a friendly, relaxed atmosphere that’s already garnered regulars who keep coming in to try to buy new flavors. “It’s not unusual for a first-time visitor to spend an hour and a half here,” noted Kaytes.
And, on Wednesday night the staff will be doing what they do best — talking, chatting and sampling different products with their customers — on a larger scale.
It’s a Welcome Spring event, with an extensive menu of appetizers and desserts to complement the store’s selection. The staff is excited to do what they do best for more people than on a regular day. And, they expect it to be fun, if comparable to another kind of event.
“It’s like a wine tasting, only you can drive home afterward,” said Lee.
