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We Olive at the Oaks Mall

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IMG_9869This feature might have been more useful to you late last fall, say, just before Thanksgiving and Hannukah, and then Christmas, when there are lots of party invitations and gifts to get for people you love or just like or don’t even know at all.

But all is not lost. There will be dinner parties and birthdays and Valentine’s Day coming soon.

Plus, this feature is about a little store at the mall that is filled with delicious treats that you don’t have to buy as a gift for someone else. You can sit and sip wine and nibble on tasty appetizers. You can taste olive oil and balsamic vinegars. You can marvel at the vast array of different bottles and pots of oils, spreads, tapenades, cheeses, dips, wines, and vinegars on display.

Chef Stroh at We OliveChef Steven Stroh, of Chef Stroh’s Pestos, with his mother, and several of his spreads

We Olive started out as an olive oil and balsamic vinegar store, but last fall its owners obtained their liquor permit, and so their wee wine bar was born. As a guest at their opening party (along with my friend Charlene, who does a much more detailed write-up here), I was able to sample many of the flavors of wines, olive oils, vinegars, and dishes that one can buy or make with items from the store.

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If you like to cook with oil and vinegar, and you want to change up your ingredients from the bland flavors you can get in bulk at the big box stores, this is the place for you. A big benefit of coming in to We Olive is that you get to taste the oils and vinegars before you buy. This was a revelation to me. You taste them by actually doing a shot, not just dipping your tongue in to tentatively taste the flavor (as demonstrated below by Josh Mercurio, who develops the franchises for this family-owned chain of businesses). I was blown away by the lemony balsamic vinegar and cannot wait to make a salad dressing with it.

At We Olive, you buy a refillable bottle and then pay for the liquids by the ounce. The lovely unmarked bottles brand you connoisseur of oils and vinegars, and what better way to share the love than by bringing a pairing to your host or hostess the next time you attend a fancy party?

We Olive Thousand Oaks
190 W. Hillcrest Drive, Suite 51
Thousand Oaks, CA
(In Oaks Mall behind Red Robin)

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