Purchasing international olive oils and vinegars from shiny metal vats makes you feel closer to the source. I discovered three local spots that are making that experience possible.
At Vinaigrette (5006 Xerxes Ave. S., Mpls., 612-922-9192, vinaigrettemn.com), owners Sarah and Richard Piepenburg have filled their storefront space with an intriguing collection of olive oils and balsamic-flavored vinegars—from fig to pear—on tap.
Natalie Jaeger has her Olive Grove Olive Oil Company (720 Main St., Mendota Heights, 651-686-4710) staged with a half dozen rows of infused 100-percent extra-virgin olive oils, great-priced black-and-white truffle oil, and gourmet vinegar.
Jean Raricks’s Annona Gourmet (2907 Pentagon Dr., Mpls., 612-354-2927, annonagourmet.com) offers exotic olive oils from Australia—including blood orange and infused pomegranate—cherry vinegars, sea salts (yes, even Hawaiian red salt), and pastas, including flavored lasagna noodles, with recipes to boot.
» Special Event of the Month
The Taste of Chocolate benefit for Bloomington Fine Arts Council. 1 to 5 p.m., March 14, Bloomington Center for the Arts (tasteofchocolate.org).
Sue Zelickson is host of WCCO Radio’s Food for Thought.
