Restaurant Review: Veniero's Pasticceria

Great Pastries down by St. Marks Place!

What can I say about Veniero Pasticceria? Delicious, just delicious...

soooo many gorgeous desserts!  this wasn't even half of them!

We ended our day of food at Veniero's and it was sooooo good! I didn't order my own dessert because I was so so so full but I got to try a bite of what everyone ordered and I'll definitely be back there again.  Right when we walked in, I was tempted by all of the desserts. They were beautiful and colorful... My mouth just watered and I wanted to order one of each... Except I was too full to move.

The prices were good and the atmosphere was great.  The main dining area had beautiful lighting with a gorgeous stain glass ceiling fixture.  It was reflected in the mirror that ran the length of the room and really added to the ambience. We had a great time goofing around and taking pictures of ourselves in the mirror, but we're only vaguely ridiculous.
I wound up only ordering hazelnut coffee, but it was freshly brewed and quite tasty.  Surprisingly, it wasn't quite hot enough, but it was still good.
The others ordered a plethora of desserts. The strawberry millefolgie was scrumptious. Its bavarian cream

The strawberry millefoglie, tea and Joanna's Passion

was light and delicate while the strawberry on top and inside was fresh and sweet. We also tried a dessert called Joanna's Passion. I was floored at how good it was.  It's yellow sponge cake soaked in coconut rum with layers of coconut cream and lemon curd. I'm not always a fan of lemon but this was light and fluffy and the rum wasn't overpowering. It was so smooth that I didn't entirely realize it was sponge cake! It was that good.
As per usual we also tried the Babà Rum, this time filled with cannoli cream. The pastry itself was light and fluffy with a dense, delicious cannoli cream. But it was SUPER rum filled! If you don't like rum, this is not the dessert for you. If you do, it's perfect!

Babà Rum with Cannoli cream and I don't remember the name of this other one.

Restaurant Review: Via della Pace

One of my favorite Italian Restaurants in NYC

When I came back from Florence the first time 6 years ago, I didn't know what to do. I love Italian food, but it's so hard to find Italian food in the States that tastes like Italian food in Italy. There's a difference in the quality and freshness of ingredients as well as preparation. Most Italian food (like any food that comes from a different country) has been Americanized. Over time the food shifts with availability of ingredients and also adjusts to the palates of the majority. 

At first, I found this adjustment quite difficult. I wanted bufala mozzarella that tasted like the mozzarella in Florence.  I wanted things to be the same when it wasn't possible.  It's just the nature of going someplace different.  

But over time I was able to find certain restaurants, certain delis, that, although not exactly the same, were soo close to the food I found while in Italy.  My friends that had studied abroad and I finally found some places that we could really say were true to the Italian spirit of food.  One of those places was Via della Pace in NYC. It's on the lower East Side right off of 2nd Avenue almost directly across from the Pommes Frites. 

My friend Suzie found it and we have used it often as a fantastic reunion spot.  All of the food that I've tried is amazing and quite good for the cost. It is not super expensive but delicious. The flavors are big and fresh while the service is quite lovely.  The waitstaff is friendly and quick to give advice on wine pairings. They'll even bring samples for you to try.  

It also has a great atmosphere inside. The lighting is low and the tables are relatively close together but comfortable. The moment you sit down, there is bread to eat. The waitstaff will also bring some amazing olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip into while you wait for your food.  It's really relaxed and it is very enjoyable to eat there. No one rushes you out  but the food is served relatively quickly and hot. 

Rigatoni del Pirata

This past Sunday I introduced some of my non Italian friends to this little restaurant and they were quite pleased with the result.  We each ordered something different and then tried one anothers' dishes.  Everything was really, really good.  

I ordered the Rigatoni del Pirata which is baked rigatoni with sausage, mushroom and mozzarella.  It was my absolute favorite thing of the night and probably my favorite thing that I've ever ordered there. It was fresh and a little creamy with a slightly woodsy flavoring from the spices. I paired it with a great light red wine (not too dry) from Montepulciano. 

Ravioli d'Aragosta alla Vodka

My other favorite of the night was the fantastic Ravioli D'Aragosta alla vodka which was an utterly delicious ravioli filled with lobster and creamy ricotta served in a beautiful vodka sauce with red caviar.  I think I might be developing a lobster addicition. I never used to like it but very slowly as I try these new dishes, I love it more and more. These ravioli were perfect. They weren't too heavy with the perfect balance of lobster and cheese. The vodka sauce was also great without being too heavy.  

Fusilli al Pesto del Cinque Terra

Another friend tried the pesto which was light and creamy and surprisingly not too heavy on the basil. The asparagus in that pasta also added a nice crunch and surprise to such a traditional dish. The other surprise dish of the night was the Fettucine Mamma-Nonna Munda which is one of the restaurants signature dishes. I had never tried it before but it was fantastic.  It's homemade fettucine with a meat sauce and it's served with sausage and pork ribs.  The sauce was great and the pork ribs practically fell off the bone. My friends ate it all up!  

Fettucine Mamma-Nonna Munda

We feasted and still had a reasonable bill at the end of the night. Via della Pace also has a great dessert menu but we were so full from a day of munching that we decided to hold off until we could have a nice long walk to burn some calories and make some room.  I do remember some of my friends absolutely LOVE the tiramisu.  And I know they have a wonderful collection of after dinner drinks like amaro, limoncello and grappa!  I'll definitely take my friends back again and make sure they have some space for dessert and espresso!

Restaurant Review: Artichoke Pizza

On 14th Street down by 2nd Avenue, a new friend introduced me to an amazing little hole in the wall pizzeria that I probably would have never noticed. Its name is Artichoke Pizza. Outside was crowded with people milling around eating large slices of thick pizza. There are benches scattered out by the restaurant itself but people were also simply sitting on stoops and eating.

Meanwhile, there was a consistent line out the door of the restaurant for people grabbing slices and pies to go. There was a small sit down area as well, but most seemed more interested in eating out in the sunlight. The interior seemed dark and eclectic but I was utterly charmed.
We sat outside and shared one GIANT piece of pizza.  When I say giant, I mean this was a HUGE slice of pizza.  And it was utterly delicious. We shared a slice of the pie the restaurant is named for. We got artichoke pizza which had the most delicious creamy cheese sauce. It was absolutely fantastic.  The artichoke wasn't bitter but beautifully cooked and I really did enjoy the lack of tomato sauce. I want another slice NOW.  Please and thank you.  The crust was thick and flaky, crisp on the bottom but still soft in the center.
I would also love to try the other pizzas because they looked equally delicious! Next time I'm down by Union Square I'll definitely be walking over!

Restaurant Review: Pommes Frites

The first time I tried Pommes Frites was when I was a senior at Sarah Lawrence College. We had gone into the city for a day of adventure and at the end of the night before hopping on the train back to campus we were feeling a bit peckish.  We discovered Pommes Frites and it is still one of my favorite places down by St. Mark's Place.  It is a small hole in the wall and I honestly didn't know what to expect when I first saw it.  It has 2 seats out front with a small table in front of a window and then the inside is dark and not very spacious however, the fries make it all worth it.

Pommes Frites only makes Belgian Style french fries and sauces to go along with them. If you are near 2nd Avenue and feeling like you need a small snack, I highly suggest you try Pommes Frites. The fries are always made right in front of you and there is a long list of sauces that you can try with them, from savory mayos, to spicy to sweet. One of my friends ordered the classic fries which came with ketchup, mayo and onion freshly chopped on top.  These were delicous but normally I like to order the side sauces because they have such a wonderful variety of choices. This time we tried 3 sauces. We got my absolute favorite which is the mango chutney mayo, which has a hint of spice to complement the sweetness of the mango. It is delicious and I could probably eat it by the bucketload... which would not be the smartest ideas but awesome nonetheless. We also tried an utterly fantastic wild mushroom mayo that had a kick of herbs to it (I'm thinking rosemary but I wasn't entirely certain) and the last that we tried was a roasted garlic mayo. Everytime I go, I try to try a couple of new or different flavors since there are so many great options. Every specialty sauce is a dollar unless you do the three flavor combination (which I highly recommend) which only costs $2.50.

The three awesome mayos we tried; top wild mushroom, right mango chutney and bottom garlic herb.

On Sunday, there were six of us snacking and we were able to share two small orders between all of us so the portions and pricing is really quite awesome. Had we been super hungry (or really, just trying not to spoil our appetites more than absolutely necessary) we could have easily shared 2 larges or 1 double portion for only a few dollars more.
I can't wait to get back and have more fries!

The Brooklyn Smorgasburg

Welcome to the Brooklyn Smorgasburg!

Mmmmm as I was saying in my last post the Brooklyn Smorgasburg was absolutely fantastic!  The Smorgasburg is every Saturday in Williamsburg and every Sunday in DUMBO from 11am to 6pm. It is free entry and there are vendors from all over New York with so much delicious looking food it's not even funny.  There were bbq vendors, different types of Asian foods, vegan foods, desserts, foods from different Latin American countries...
We were right under the Brooklyn Bridge and it was a great spot for a picnic meal with sun and a breeze on the grass.  It was crowded with people but there was a lot of space to occupy so we could still relax and not be too close to other groups of foodies.
I didn't try a lot of food (I wasn't super hungry yet). In fact, I really wish I had tried more but I can always go back next week! What I did eat was absolutely scrumptious and I honestly can't wait to have another serving or two or three!
I had salteñas for teh first time ever. They are a type of baked empanada typical of Bolivia and are a type of savory pastry filled with beef, pork or chicken (sometimes there are also vegetarian options) mixed in a sweet and sometimes spicy sauce. The filling is typically of a thick stew consistency and is served with hot sauce and cheese on the side.  As I was wandering around, I spotted them and knew I was going to have to try. The smell that was wafting over to me was utterly irresistable so I ordered one with beef inside. I found them at a booth called the Bolivian Llama Party which is also a restaurant in Brooklyn.  They were also serving freshly carbonated on the spot sodas in flavors like mango and lemon lime and lemonade rose and hibiscus blackberry. You could ask to try samples of the soda. I'm not usually a soda or carbonated drink kind of gal and these were absolutely fantastic and quite refreshing which was a nice contrast to the spice in the saltena. My favorite of the sodas was the Hibiscus blackberry and the Mango too was wonderful. I've never had anything quite like the saltena but it was a great blend of spicy and sweet and the beef was juicy and flavorful. There was an egg cooked perfectly inside the flaky crust as well.  I also got to try a bite of the pork saltena and it was also delicious although I preferred the beef.  Both were full of flavor and super moist. I would definitely recommend having a spoon handy because the inside can get a bit messy... but TOTALLY worth it!

Freshly made Salteñas served with spicy sauce and deliciously crumbly cheese

delicious pork buns

 My friends tried the lobster rolls and said they were delicious (in fact it was so good that the lobster roll didn't even make it tour picnic seating area because they ate it without sharing) as were the pork buns and barbeque. I had a bite of the barbeque pork and it was absolutely tender and wonderful. As a testament to that fact, the line was at least 30 people long and wrapped around the corner. I lazily waited for my friend to wait on the line but after having a small bite, I realized that the line was well worth it.
Next time I go there is a very long line of savory food that I still have to try. There was a Grilled cheese stand and a ramen stand and there were fish tacos.  I could have stayed there all day munching except we had other things to do in the city that day.

As we were leaving though, we decided to get some flavored shaved ice (made right in front of you and ice pops. There were some unique and refreshing flavors and I'm so glad I ordered mine before we went.  Super light and refreshing. I decided to get the rhubarb tarragon flavor because I've never seen the combination before. It was sweet without being too sweet.  A friend of mine tried the lemon mint and that was quite nice and refreshing as well.  Some other friends tried some of the ice pop flavors and they were incredible too.  You cannot go wrong with Peoples pops!  I will definitely try another flavor next time I go.

All in all, I highly recommend going to the Smorgasburg and trying some of the delicious treats. There were all sorts of things that looked amazing that I just couldn't get too like the s'mores pie and vegan ice cream... And so much more too... GOOOO!  You should definitely check it out and try EVERYTHING!

A day of food...

Oh my goodness...
I spent my day eating... Yesterday, I had been so busy grilling and cooking for everyone that I barely ate anything at all (half a hamburger, 1 small piece of kielbasa and some chocolate chip zucchini cookies) and then today I ate far, far too much for comfort.  I was definitely ridiculous.
My friends and I were wandering through New York City and we ate DELICIOUS food at every turn.  I have been home for 2 hours and I'm still uncomfortably full!
But it was soooo GOOD!
We started the day in Brooklyn at the Smorgasburg right under the Brooklyn Bridge. There were amazing vendors of food from around the world. I only did a small sampling but it was truly delicious! (I'll be writing a whole blog about it later on with pictures and more details) I don't know when I'll get back there, but I absolutely have to because there was just so much amazing looking food that it's worth the trek to Brooklyn.
After some lovely munching in the sun we went into Manhattan where I got a Dark Chocolate Raspberry Shake from Godiva... and then because I'm a Chocoholic and obviously have a problem I finished my friends Dark Chocolate Shake (she'd gotten through about 1/4 of it when she decided it was too much chocolate for her). I'm crazy and I finished it ALL.  Mine was utterly spectacular and is my favorite flavor shake from Godiva. Right now, they're having a special 5 shakes and you get one free (they give you a card and stamp it, so you don't have to order them all at once lol)... I may actually accomplish this since I love this one sooo much.
Then after a little shopping near Union Square we wandered down to St. Marks place and did another little food tour. We stopped first at Pommes Frites an amazing little shoppe on 2nd Avenue that serves authentic Belgian fries and only that. (I'll also be doing a whole post on those wonderful, delightful, tasty potato-y bites) We shared a whole lot of fries as an appetizer to dinner since one of my best friends had never tried their french fries before. In college, when we wandered the down town area Pommes Frites was a staple for my friends and I (especially if there was any kind of drinking involved in our outings).
Then I happened to notice that right across the way was one of my favorite and most authentic Italian restaurants in NYC. It's name is Via Della Pace and I cannot say enough good things about the food and wine there (sooo there will also be a post about it)! I lived in Italy for more than three years and I love the food there. My girls (some of whom I met while all of us were living in Florence) and I have gone to Via Della Pace for mini reunions and reminders of good times. When I pointed it out to my friends today they were game to try and so in we went for more food, of the pasta variety.  MMMMMMM.... Just mmmmmm....
Then as if we hadn't eaten enough Angela suggested we go to one of her favorite Italian bakeries in the village, the Veniero Pasticceria.  It was so good that it also warrents its own post.  All I ordered was coffee but I wound up trying a little of everyone else's dessert so I can honestly say it was delicious and worth the visit....

And now I'm home and still very, very full after a truly fantastic day of food and friends. I can't wait to do a repeat!

Recipe: Nectarine Raspberry Cupcakes

I bought some beautiful nectarines the other day and started wondering if I could turn them into cupcakes!  I adapted a Martha Stewart Nectarine Cupcake Recipe. I was actually quite surprised to find a recipe for cupcakes with fresh nectarines, for some reason, I only expected to find recipes involving peach.  I didn't find many involving nectarines, but this one looked good so I took it and adapted it to what I had in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk (preferably whole milk)
1-2 tsp vanilla extract (for me, more is better)
6 tbs butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 medium nectarines, peeled, halved, pitted and finely chopped (which should be about 1 1/4 cup)
1 small container raspberries, cleaned and halved

Preheat the oven to 350°. Sift together the flour, baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. In a separate bowl beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Continue mixing and add in 1 egg at a time followed by the vanilla. Then blend in the flour mixture alternating twice with the milk. Stir in the nectarines and raspberries gently.
Line a muffin tin with baking cups and fill each with about 3 tablespoons of batter. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden.  Let cool in tin.

I topped mine with fresh whipped cream and thin nectarine slices.  I think I may try this recipe again and use peaches, plums or apricots.  I lean towards apricots because they are scrumptious and I think will go nicely inside a cupcake.

Ten Ways to Get Kids to Eat "Green Things"

As children my brother and I were prone to shouting, "EWWW, green things!"  It was one of those hilarious (or not so hilarious things) our mother and grandmother had to put up with.  We were challenging to say the least and when we were trying to behave it was kind of comical how often adults seemed to have the same opinion.  I will never forget the night my mother took my brother and I to a restaurant with two of her coworkers. I don't remember what I ordered at that Italian restaurant but I do remember that my brother was so picky that he could only order pasta with butter and cheese (yes, I facefaulted even then). When it came out, my mother and I had to hold our breath, the plate was sprinkled with some kind of green herb garnish. Luckily for us, my brother decided to dig in anyway without commentary.  Her coworker, after a brief moment shouted, "Eww, what's that green stuff?"  I thought Mom was going to die, goodness knows I was laughing very, very hard.  Adults are supposed to like vegetables. Kids are the ones who are supposed to be difficult about fresh vegetables.

We were such pains about most vegetables. Goodness knows, I only ate a handful of veggies and my brother ate even fewer than I did. In retrospect, I don't know why I wouldn't eat vegetables because now I love them. I know that sometimes I didn't like the texture of vegetables, other times it was a flavor issue and sometimes it was sheer stubbornness... When Mom or Grams would put their foots down, I would eat the bare minimum to avoid their anger. Now, I think vegetables are delicious and I've been thinking of some ways to make them look appealing to even kids.

Besides force feeding, here are some suggestions on how to get kids (and some adults ::wink::) to eat their "green things."

1. Set a good example! Eat your vegetables, and they'll start to pick up good habits. Not to say this always works, afterall Grams and Mom ate their veggies and I couldn't be bothered.  But it's still a good place to start.
2. If not, try making vegetables playful! Kids love make believe so bring pretend play to the table. Broccoli can be trees. Celery can be logs, especially if served with peanut butter and raisin ants. An octopus out of red pepper served with ranch or french onion dip is fun to play with. Pack a lady bug garden bento box. Or a cucumber racecar! Build a jungle on your plate with string beans, carrots and different kinds of greenery. Or maybe a grilled cheese and veggie train.  An edible rainbow would be colorfully delicious!
3. Get the kids involved! Have them help you prepare the meal, either by picking the vegetables at the store or by cleaning the veggies during prep time.  They'll be more inclined to eat the veggies if they're actively involved in the process. When I was younger, I helped my grandmother with our garden in the backyard. I was far more interested in eating the vegetables that I had helped plant and grow. 
4. Don't force kids (or picky adults) to finish their plates.  I know, seems counterintuitive, but if you force someone to eat something, they will develop negative associations. However, you should enforce the one bite rule.  They need to at least try the new vegetable each time it's on their plate. So one bite, but no fighting.  One of the reasons that I hated string beans for so long was because I associated them with my grandmother and brother trying to force me to eat them and clear my plate. The last straw for me was when my lovely brother shoved a handful into my face, and effectively into my nose. I could not and would not eat string beans again until I was 20 and even then I wasn't thrilled with them. 
5. Basic bribery: Every time they eat their veggies, or a bite of a new type of vegetable, some kind of reward can be offered.  I loved stickers growing up so if someone had said, if you try these beets you get a sticker, I pretty much would have jumped at the opportunity. I really liked my stickers. 
6. Don't tell them how healthy vegetables are.  Kids tend to think they're invincible so health is not high on their list of priorities.  However, kids do want to get bigger and stronger. I ate spinach because I thought it would help me become like Popeye who was, in my mind, super cool and super strong. 
7. Make it colorful. Little kids like bright colors, so serve up some colorful vegetables seperately rather than in a casserole. 
8. Use butter, garlic and bacon!  You can absolutely make veggies more appealing by cooking them with things that have big flavors.  Positive associations after all. :D 
9. Hide them: Add the veggies like spinach, beets, carrots, salad and other neutrally flavored vegetables to smoothies with fresh fruit. They don't add flavor but they add to nutrition. Super healthy and delicious! I had a delicious berry, banana and spinach smoothie the other day and you couldn't tell their was spinach in there by sight or taste. You can also cut and freeze the fruit ahead of time and then you won't have to add ice to the smoothie. 
10. Hide them: Sweet tooth? Shred up your veggies and bake them into a cake or cookies, like my Double Chocolate chip zucchini cookies, Carrot Cake, and Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. Don't mention the veggie and the kids will eat up their dessert, not knowing that they're getting a dose of vitamins. If you're worried about sugar content you can always cut the quantity of sugar in most recipes and skip the chocolate. I seem to have chocolate chips in most of my recipes because I LOVE chocolate.  And the great thing about this is that almost any cake can be made with veggies, it will just add some moisture. 

Mind you, 9 and 10 are really kind of last resorts. They absolutely work to get kids (and adults) the nutrition they need but at the same time they don't solve the basic problem. Smoothies and cakes with hidden vegetables don't make kids like vegetables. They simply add nutrition to a diet. My other suggestions are far more realistic if you want a child or adult to get enjoyment out of their food. The ideas can help people actually start to enjoy eating vegetables and new foods. Enjoyment of healthy foods is the first step to leading a healthy lifestyle.

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Cookies

I made these ages ago but I never got around to posting up the recipe soooo here it is now.  They were utterly delicious and if you like red velvet cupcakes, I think you'll like these! I also think these will be super festive for the 4th of July.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 or 2 tsp vanilla
1 or 2 tsp red food coloring (maybe blue food coloring for the Fourth of July)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (you can use white chocolate chips for Valentine's Day or Christmas or even Fourth of July)

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and then set aside.

With a hand mixer, whip together the butter, sugar and vinegar until pale and fluffy about 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in egg. Add in the vanilla and red food coloring. Blend well and then slowly add in the dry ingredients. Once well combined, mix in the chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into balls; about a tablespoon each. Place each onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with Pam.  In my oven it took about 11 minutes, but keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't burn.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet.

Store in an airtight container in between layers of parchment paper.

I can't wait to make these again!  Who knows, maybe I'll make them for the bbq this weekend! And if I wait to make them for the 4th of July I'll make them with white chocolate chips.  I'll probably make a blue variety then as well!

Recipe: Zucchini Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

I stumbled upon this Martha Stewart's Zucchini Nut Cookie recipe and decided that it would be fun to play around with it and make some cookies for a barbeque that I'm going to this weekend.  I figured this would be a nice and healthy, yet delicious treat. However, I did decide to change up the recipe some, mostly because I wanted chocolate and also because I didn't have brown sugar.  I think the brown sugar helps mask the green color from the zucchini. I didn't want the cookies to be green (since I didn't want people to ask me why they were green) so I decided to add coccoa powder in addition to the chocolate chips. The original recipe also has a cream cheese filling for the cookies but I decided to skip that as well.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

They're not super pretty, but they were utterly delicious!

1 cup finely grated zucchini
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tbs coccoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bown. In another bowl beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy and then beat in the egg and
vanilla.
Add the flour mix into the butter mixture. Add in the zucchini, oats and chocolate then refrigerate for about an hour or until firm.
Drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. The original recipe says to use a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop to help the process which holds about 2 tablespoons of batter, but I wanted my cookies a little smaller, so I just used a tablespoon.
Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes.
Let cool and then eat some deliciousness.

Update:  The cookies were a big hit; moist and delicious! And no one believed that they were made with zucchini!  I'm definitely going to be making them again sometime soon.

Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar Findings

A couple of weeks ago, I went down to Long Branch and I found this wonderful little shop on the boardwalk called Carter & Cavero Old World Olive Oil Company. I cannot tell you how excited I was! It's not often that I see shops that reminds me of Italy quite so strongly. It specializes in different kinds of olive oil and vinegar, as well as food imports and ceramic and wooden dishware for the kitchen. It was beautifully set up and easy to find different items.  There were even sections dedicated to gift samplers and several places with recipe cards and suggestions that I truly appreciated.

Such a quaint and adorable find!

Quite honestly, I fell in love with the entire quaint atmosphere of the little shop. The manager was very helpful and pleasant. She was happy to provide information about the store, and about all of the different products. I've forgotten her name, but I really enjoyed chatting with her about the different types of olive oil and balsamic. She was very knowledgeable.

About 2 years ago while I was living in Florence, I was given a wonderful opportunity. One of my friends from Middlebury College asked me to go to VinItaly, a Wine and Food festival in Verona, Italy. It is one of the largest Slow Food festivals in Italy and has wine vendors from all 20 regions of Italy plus other regions of Europe. It also had olive oil and other artisan products from all over Italy and Europe. My friend asked me to go in her stead so I could get her samples of olive oil and I happily agreed.  It was an absolutely fantastic experience where I got to talk to a ton of people about food and wine. In the course of three days I was able to try countless types of wine, olive oil and honey. I learned so much about how the products are made and the differences in taste and quality.
Here in the United States, we don't really have too many different types of olive oil. Here we have olive oil and extra virgin olive oil but in Italy, in Europe in general, there are countless types of olive oil. Fresh olive oil is a light green color and has a deeper flavor and slightly thicker consistency than the olive oils we know and love here. It is perfect on Florentine bread (no salt involved). The virgin olive oils are lighter and great for salads but there are medium and heavier olive oils as well that are great for other dishes.  I think I should just write another posting about olive oil. For now back to Carter & Cavero.

The right corner and back of the shop are lined with cannisters of olive oil and vinegar to taste test. 

It was refreshing to see a shop set up so nicely with informative staff.  The olive oil and balsamic vinegar were set up in tasting stations on the right hand side and back wall. There were tasting cups and pieces of bread to dip. It was quite impressive to see the variety available here in New Jersey. There were simple olive oils and balsamic vinegars and there were also more interesting fruity flavors available as well.
Of the olive oils my favorite was probably the white truffle olive oil. It was smoky and strong but somehow still delicate. If you like truffles, I highly recommend this one. I would love to have this with a porcini and
truffle risotto or a mushroom crostini (essentially toasted bread). The persian lime olive oil was also quite delicious and so were a lot of the other varieties. Honestly, there were so many to try. I have to go again and try even more of them.
I was also able to try a lot of the balsamic vinegars. I hadn't even realized how many types of balsamic vinegar there could be. There are traditional dark balsamics but there are also white
balsamics. My absolute favorite was the peach white balsamic vinegar, produced in Modena which is in Northern Italy. It had kick and a delicious sweet peach flavor. I loved it so much that I bought myself a small bottle and I've already used it to make a delicous Nectarine Risotto (recipe coming sooning) and  a scumptious Nectarine Chicken (recipe also coming soon).
Sometime this week I'm going to make a fresh salad using arugula, spinach, peaches, toasted walnuts and feta using this balsamic and a light EVOO. Next time I get back down the shore I have a list of balsamics that I need to try again and buy.  Some of my other favorites were the pomegranate balsamic and the blueberry balsamic. Both are dark balsamics with beautiful fruity kicks. The pomegranate was more tart with a deep rich flavor and acidity which I think would make for great grilling and/or dipping sauces. The blueberry balsamic was a little sweeter and absolutely delicious. In Florence, at a restaurant called Acqua al 2 I had a fantastic blueberry steak that I would love to try to replicate by making a reduction with this blueberry balsamic vinegar and fresh blueberries.

Carter & Cavero also had some other fantastic artisan products. I was particularly fascinated by the Ordigno, a super spicy Calabrese vegetable spread that can be used with crackers and cheese, or pasta. The "bomb" packaging is not a joke, it is really that spicy and I could not resist buying it.  I use it on EVERYTHING. No I'm not kidding, EVERYTHING. Spicy is amazing and this is particularly fantastic. I put it on sandwiches, crackers with cheese, wraps and pasta.  Next time I go back, I'll probably even get some of the pink marbled salt to try!