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The Blue Olive is a premium olive oil and vinegar tasting bar located at 26 Charles Colman Blvd. Its owners, Beth and John Canevari, have been Pawling residents for over 10 years. They once visited a store with the same concept in Boston, had an amazing experience, and wanted to share it with the Pawling community. Together, with co-owners and close friends John and Laura Leahy, their dream became a reality last July when the store opened.

Their vision came to life in the form of a warm, rustic, and welcoming atmosphere designed from the ground up by the four friends. The idea is to encourage customers to stay and taste their way through the 45 different oil and vinegar varietals. Think of it kind of like a wine tasting – oils from different regions will offer different flavor notes and undertones.

The Blue Olive offers extra virgin olive oils from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, allowing for a constant rotation. The store is currently in the process of phasing out some northern oils, and bringing in new southern oils. Additionally, you’ll find fused and infused oils, white and dark balsamic vinegars, and premium red and white wine vinegars, all available for tasting. You can also find all natural pastas, different sauces, infused salts, and olive oil based soaps hand made by Beth and John’s daughter Gianna.

If you are new to the idea of olive oil and vinegar tasting, consider this: once in the store, you can explain your favorite tastes, likes and dislikes, or even a specific recipe you are working with and have somebody recommend a specific product based on your preferences. In fact, we sometimes do this at the restaurant when playing with new menu ideas.

The best part about The Blue Olive is the quality and integrity of the product. Their supplier out in California literally created her own premium standard because the standards out there weren’t good enough for her taste. For example, did you know that 70% of the extra virgin olive oils that you find out on the shelves while you’re grocery shopping aren’t really extra virgin olive oil? Most of them are a combination of different types and some have a lot of artificial ingredients. The Blue Olive only sells 100% extra virgin olive oils.

With the holidays around the corner, I thought it would be nice to remind everybody to add The Blue Olive to your errand list. You can create some truly amazing (and tasty) gourmet baskets for your loved ones.

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

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