Taste from over 70 varieties of olive oils and balsamics
Welcome to Monterey's Tasty Olive Bar, where there are over seventy varieties of olive oils and balsamics to choose from! All of our olive oils come from two different hemispheres in Tunisia and Australia, and our balsamics are aged the traditional Solera Method from Modena Italy. Open everyday at 10:00am.
Our California Roasted Almond Oil is finally back in stock! This new harvest is expeller pressed and lightly filtered with an amazingly delicate nose and deep roasted flavor. Great for sautéing, drizzling, baking, dipping and as a vinaigrette. Pair with the Strawberry Balsamic or Cranberry Pear Balsamic for an amazing vinaigrette.
The new harvest of our famous Baklouti Green Chili has finally arrived! From the Barbary Coast of North Africa, this Tunisia Baklouti pepper is rare and unique to our region. This is the only example of this fruity and mildly spicy green chili olive oil in the world. Baklouti Chili olive oil is made by combining organic olives with fresh whole green Baklouti Chilies. The two, and only two, ingredients are then crushed, mixed, in the malaxer, fusing the fresh green pepper with the organic olive oil! A truly unique and mouth-watering olive oil! Don't miss out!!!
Our Chiquitita Extra Virgin Olive Oil is FINALLY HERE!!! Originating only very recently in Spain in 1991, this new cultivar is a cross between the iconic Spanish Picual and Arbequina varieties. Our example is sweet and delicate and hails form Portugal. Displays pleasant notes of green almond and olive. Rare!!! Get your bottle of this unique and fascinating extra virgin olive oil before it is all gone! Great for your everyday salads, bread dips, and cooking!
The Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove, Ca has a wonderful migration every year of thousands of beautiful Monarchs. Their migration to Pacific Grove is so unique that Pacific Grove is nicknamed "Butterfly Town, U.S.A." Come and see these beautiful butterflies and while your at it don't forget to stop in and visit your favorite Olive Oil Bar!!!
We are thrilled to remind ALL our Monterey County residents that the Cannery Row Parking Garage has FREE parking everyday after 4:00 pm for all county residents! Don't forget to stop at your favorite shop! Have fun sampling over 70 variaties of olive oils and balsamic vinegars. From sampling to browsing our gifts around our store we warmly welcome you to start your holiday shopping with us!
During the holiday season from November 25 - December 26, locals can park for FREE in the garage ALL DAY.
The Cannery Row Parking Garage is located on 601 Foam Street. Valid ID required.
"Oro Bailen" Picual EVOO (Robust)
A beautiful Spanish olive oil that bursts with savory notes of green tomato leaf and creamy green tea! This incredible balanced oil has a slightly bitter center which gives way to a hint of sweet almond and a pleasant pepper finish! Sure to win multiple awards, we own the exclusive rights to this precious Spanish beauty!
Enjoy with a fresh salad or on your everyday cooking!
It's a new season at the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium!! Lots of new sea critters to enjoy this year! Here's just one of the newest members at the aquarium,
This lively little fish is almost always in motion—digging, building and remodeling its den using its mouth as a shovel, or hovering near its home looking for predators and prey.
This year at the Monterey Bay Aquarium learn why Baja California is so special! This new exhibit opens this weekend Saturday March 18th! Come to Cannery Row and be part of this amazing event! Don't forget to stop by your favorite Olive Bar!
Our Californian Roasted Walnut Oil is back! Handcrafted in our home state, strictly following 150 year old traditional methods. Slowly roasted to perfection, then expeller-pressed and lightly filtered. It adds a rich walnut taste to salad dressing, pasta, grilled meat, fresh baked pastries and makes a great bread dip. Mix with equal amounts of our Red Apple or Blackberry-Ginger Balsamic vinegars for an unforgettable vinaigrette!!
Coming from our home state, is our two new plain extra virgin olive oils (EVOO'S); SEVILLANO EVOO (MILD INTENSITY) and ASCOLANO EVOO (ROBUST INTENSITY)!
The CA SEVILLANO displays notes of fresh green herb & floral taste. This olive variety produces low oil yields making it even more rare. The flavor profile is very interesting and different from anything else.
The CA ASCOLANO displays notes of stone fruit, green banana, and berry fruit, making it one of our most pungent oils on our shelf! Very robust peppery finish!
Both are great everyday olive oils! Don't miss out on getting one of these delicious and unique CA EVOO'S!
Our new Extra Virgin Olive Oils from South Africa have finally made it to our shop! This season we are bringing you the Nocellara EVOO (Robust Intensity) & FS17 (Robust Intensity)!
NOCELLARA EVOO(Robust Intensity): A coveted variety native to Sicily! This Nocellara has a lovely, distinct green apple aroma and floral notes. Pungent and spicy up front with slight, fleeting bitterness. This phenomenal oil has middle notes of creamy green almond and green olive. A perfect choice for those that crave a little bite and fruitiness one. Incredible on hot foods! Pairs great with a Traditional Balsamic & our Neapolitan Herb Balsamic!
FS17 EVOO (Robust Intensity): At a whopping 499ppm total phenol content, the FS-17 is very robust & our highest phenol olive oil this season! Notes are green, herbaceous and spicy. Displaying typical variety characteristics, the FS17 is characterized by an elevated amount of antioxidant substances. Pairs amazingly with any dark aged balsamic!
Come into our store today and try these amazing EVOO's! Open everyday at 10:00 am.
We are delighted to let all Monterey County residents know that the Cannery Row parking garage has free parking everyday after 4:00pm for all county residents! It's almost that time of year and what better way to celebrate and start your early shopping than free parking. Stop on by with friends & family to try our delicious olive oils & balsamic!
The Cannery Row Parking Garage is located on
601 Foam St
Monterey, CA 93940
We are super excited to be introducing two of our newest balsamic vinegars! The Neapolitan Herb Dark Balsamic & our Gravenstein Apple White Balsamic!
The Neopolitan Herb balsamic is zesty, savory, and versatile! It has just the right amount of acidity to shine in a multitude of culinary applications, especially where a savory characteristic is desired. Made from traditional herbs long used in Neapolitan cuisine including, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, garlic, and sage. Fantastic for dressings, with pasta, rice, quinoa, drizzled over cucumbers and tomatoes, brushed on bruschetta or paired with creamy cheeses!
The Gravenstein Apple White Balsamic is a hard to find varietal do to the difficulty farmers have cultivating it. In addition to contending with a very finicky tree, it is also not an apple that travels or stores well so it is best enjoyed during the relatively short season. Here in California, its grown in pockets of the coast and it is highly priced for its heady ambrosia perfume, and crisp, sweet; tart cream colored flesh.
Neopolitan Herb has become our best selling Balsamic thus far. Making it easy to share for holiday gifts!!!
Balsamic Ganache Truffles
1/2 Cup Steaming hot heavy cream
1 pinch of sea salt
8 ounces best quality dark chocolate in chip form, or chopped
3 tablespoons dark or white balsamic - my favorite options for this are: coconut, raspberry, apricot, tangerine strawberry, maple, espresso, lavender, or traditional.
1/2 cup cocoa powder for rolling the truffles or use 6 oz. tempered (melted chocolate) for coating the truffles.
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium size heat proof bowl.
Heat the cream and salt in a heavy bottom sauce pan over low heat until it just begins to steam. Do not allow it to simmer or boil.
Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes without stirring. Stir the mixture gently until all the chocolate is melted. Add the balsamic and stir to combine well. Cool to room temperature and then place the bowl in the refrigerator, covered until the ganache has become cold and can be scooped and formed into balls.
Have a baking with a sheet of parchment ready that will fit into your fridge or freezer.
Take 1 teaspoon of cold balsamic ganache and quickly roll between your hands to form a ball. If you spend too much time trying to get the shape just right, you'll begin to melt the ganache and it will be a mess.
Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet and then place the sheet in the fridge or freezer to firm up the truffles when you're done rolling all of them.
Now you can roll into cocoa powder or in tempered (melted) chocolate. However, these are best stored in single layers, separated by parchment or wax paper in a sealed container in the refrigerator. They can be taken out and served at room temperature.
You can still capture the taste of summer with this fantastic salad featuring our dark chocolate balsamic!
2 cups of spring mix
1 cup of sliced strawberries
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup of honey roasted peanuts
1/3 cup of dried cherries
a splash with dark chocolate balsamic
blend everything together, and congratulations! You now have a delicious and elegant salad. Enjoy!
Slumped from Debbie's sister's kiln, a bottle undergoes the magical transformation into a dish!
Happy July! Here in Monterey, we are always happy when there are some new, creative ways to recycle, and we are definitely very enthused with our new product! Our small bottles are melted down and then pressed to become the perfect little cheese platters, dishes for olive pits( you know, the olives that you bought from us, of course) or a little souvenir that can hold small spoons at the dinner table. Here are some other creative uses to recycle a bottle:
1. Bring it to our store! We take a dollar off the refill to encourage recycling. Make sure you wash it first, since you can do any flavor. Petites unfortunately are not under this discount.
2. Wash it out and arrange with any of our other size bottles and place some flowers for the perfect centerpiece.
3. Creative candle holder--just place a candlestick and seal by placing the base of the candle near some heat.
Have any interesting ideas? Let us know!
We've now debuted our Olive Oil of the Month program, with a promotional price for a short period of time until June 13th--seize the moment while you can! Every month, we will ship a medium (375ml) bottle of a handpicked oil or balsamic that will be delivered to a door of your choice. This will be perfect for any holiday or event gift, such as weddings, graduations, or anniversary gifts. Order here.
We are also introducing two new flavors: the Wild Fernleaf and Dill Olive Oil and French Tarragon White Balsamic! Both are very herbaceous, which means that they will be extremely versatile in cooking and food preparation. Try the Wild Fernleaf and Dill Olive Oil in baking herbed breads such as rosemary biscuits or foccacia, and try the French Tarragon White Balsmamic with a nice Asian Chicken Salad!
Last but not least, Gift Certificates are now available. Customize any price you'd like and tell us who you'd like us to send it to! We have fixed options on the website but you can call the store at 831-242-8900 to request any value you'd like to add.
Have you seen it? Strange things are happening at the Aquarium, in anticipation of our forthcoming special exhibition, Tentacles. Opens Saturday! http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/tentacles
Citrus Olive Oil Candle
Step 1. Decide which citrus you'd like to turn in to a candle. Half a standard size lime filled with olive oil will burn for about 1 hour, while half a lemon will burn for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours, and orange filled with olive oil will burn for about 3-3 1/2 hours, and a grapefruit for 4-5 hours.
Step 2. Cut your favorite citrus in half reserving the half that is connected to the long, white string-like pith that runs through the center of citrus fruits. It is very important that this remain intact and connected to the citrus, as this is your candle "wick".
Step 3. You can be meticulous and remove all the flesh of the citrus down to the white pith, or you can be lazy like me and simply get most of it out. It will not affect the performance of your citrus candle.
Step 4. Choose the type of oil you'd like to fill it with. Any single cultivar extra virgin olive oil, fused olive oil or infused olive oil will burn in the candle, however stay away from burning the chili olive oils such as Baklouti, Cayenne, or Harissa. Fill the citrus about 3/4 full, but make sure the wick is not fully submerged in the oil and at least 1/4" is available to light.
Step 5. Gently coat the citrus pith or the "wick" with olive oil. Using a stick lighter begin the process of lighting the wick. This will take a minute or two as it is necessary to dry out the wick and char it to some degree. Once it's lit, it will stay so until all the oil is gone.
How wonderful is this? Veronica Foods olive oil and balsamic was hand selected to be served at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Currently our products are being served in all venues and starting today will also be on the buffets in USA House and NBC’s VIP Hospitality Pavilion. The products are a HUGE hit & guests are already asking how they can buy them when they return to the states....well, right here, of course, at Monterey's Tasty Olive Bar!!
