The newest hot spot to shop on East Blvd turns out to be the perfect place to buy a Mother’s Day gift for my mother, a Father’s Day gift for my husband, a birthday gift for my neighbor and a hostess gift for our next supper club. And I plan to try each and every one before I buy.
Pour Olive is the brand-spanking-new artisanal oil and vinegar store on East Blvd next to Maddi’s and across from Cantina 1511. Here, in an uncluttered space, they sell over 40 selections of hard to find — some hard to even imagine — cold-pressed olive oils and balsamic vinegars. You sidle up to the 20+ taps of premium, infused and fused olive oils on one side of their bar, and to 20+ taps of dark and white balsamics from Modena on the other. The premium olive oils come from all over the world, regions chosen at different times of year for the freshness of their olives more than anything else. Conversely, balsamic is like champagne – the real deal only comes from certain places and Modena is one of two for balsamic.
You taste them as you want – with a piece of bread to dip, mixed together like a dressing, or just straight from the tap (actually called a fusti) for the full & true flavor. You can wander down the bar, tasting as you go, reading the various tasting notes to help you better understand your preferences. Owner Sophie Jones happily suggests tastes and combo’s you may never have dreamed up yourself – how about a Blood Orange Fused Oil with a Dark Chocolate Balsamic? Um, yes m’am. I have been reading about drizzling balsamic on vanilla ice cream for years, and this is the first time I’ve actually been tempted to try it….with Pour Olive’s Strawberry or Chocolate balsamic in a taste off.
Despite all the choices, the pricing is super easy – by the bottle size. A smalll bottle of any one of the oils or vinegars is $10, so a pair makes a unique and unexpected alternative to wherever and whomever you’d take a bottle of wine. This is THE place to get a gift for the foodies on our list, and we were thrilled to find it. Let’s give them a big ole welcome to the scoopcharlotte neighborhood!!
Pour Olive
1528 East Boulevard. 980.207.1510
Follow Pour Olive Oil on Facebook here or Twitter @PourOliveOil.
Open Tuesday – Sunday.
