And balsamic vinegar, and truffle oils, and tapenades and pestos, and pastas and olives, and olive oil based bath and body products, and more.
Meet Salvatore and Jennifer Fuccillo whose new shop, Olive del Mondo, has been a dream in the making for some years now. (They think it’s their dream, but I may well have willed this into existence.) After traveling to Italy and visiting the olive groves, and taking part in the intimate communal harvest and discovering what fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) really tastes like, these self-proclaimed foodies decided to open a store that would offer quality olive oil. Their love of food kept bringing them down to Providence, and one day they stayed.
Oil quality is a huge issue. The Fuccillos despair at the low-grade swill crowding the racks at most markets and are anxious to share the good stuff with the world. They are big fans of Tom Mueller whose book Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil chronicles how resellers have added lower-priced, lower-grade oils and artificial coloring to extra-virgin olive oil, before passing the new adulterated substance along the supply chain. (He was interviewed on NPR.)
Meanwhile at Olive del Mondo — where they sell the most recently harvested oils, alternating between the northern and southern hemisphere harvests which occur at opposite times of the year — your bottle is poured on the spot to ensure freshness.
And an invitation from the Fuccillos — “We host Olive Oil 101 and Tasting Events every Saturday at the store at 6pm, and everyone and their questions are welcome.”
Store hours: 10am to 6pm, Monday through Saturday/Noon to 6pm on Sunday. More pix after the jump. And I didn’t even get to the balsamic vinegar. Just go.
Olive del Mondo, 815 Hope Street, 401.383.5733
