Here’s an idea for Sunday…
If you’ve ever wondered why that expensive Italian “extra virgin” olive oil didn’t taste so great, recall the recent New Yorker magazine story where it was revealed that bottles labeled “Italian olive oil” are most often Turkish hazelnut oil mixed with some other stuff. Stop at Formaggio Kitchen in West Cambridge to pick up a three-liter box of real olive oil. This “Arbequina D.O.P. Siurana” oil comes from Spain, where they haven’t figured out the hazelnut oil trick yet, and is in a box with an internal plastic bladder, like box wine. This keeps the oil from going slightly rancid after the container is opened (oil from an opened bottle, even if stored in the dark, tends to change in taste after a week or so). The box is cardboard, so it protects the oil from light even if kept on the counter. The cost is $50 for three liters, about the same as other good olive oils. [If you don’t live in Boston, you can get similar oil at Whole Foods in a 0.5L glass bottle for about $15. Look for the “Unio” brand. To find the boxed olive oil in your region, check the importer’s Web site, miguelvalentino.com]
Continue west on Route 2 to Lincoln, Massachusetts to the Gropius House. This was supposedly the greatest suburban house built in the U.S. in the 1930s. The architect was such a genius that it cost 4X as much per square foot to build as the average American house and consequently… had virtually no influence on how houses in the U.S. were built going forward.
Have a sandwich at Verrill Farm in Concord for lunch.
To see what happens when an architect who understands construction methods and costs builds a modern house, visit an open house at One Hawk Hill Road (web site; Boston Magazine article), from 1-3 pm (Sunday, April 19). The architect is selling the place himself, so he’ll be on site to explain how things were made. It is a beautiful light-filled 4 BR house with balconies off the bedrooms. It is just off Conant Road and Old Conant Road, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Lincoln, and across the street from Valley Pond, which has a swimming beach and boating club.
Turn left from Conant Road onto Route 117 and Dairy Joy is on your left for soft ice cream, hot dogs, and other delicious junk food (high prices; no public restroom).
Is the fancy olive oil worth it? I’m not sure.
There’s an interesting anecdote in this Ted talk about Armando Manni olive oil. Tinted glass. Filled w/inert gas. Batches are tested after release and results posted to the web. It also came in last in his blind taste test. The winning entry was a Whole Foods house brand that had been oxidizing next to his stove for months.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/benjamin_wallace_on_the_price_of_happiness.html
http://www.manni.biz
-ryan
We get olive oil in large batches (sent by ship) directly my in-laws olive trees in the Peloponnese. It’s a thick dark green and doesn’t taste, cook, smell or even pour like anything I’ve ever seen anywhere retail. It’s one small example of how our food distribution network corrupts products from the source. Eat locally whenever possible.
I didn’t know the Gropius house was 4X as expensive to build, but it sure is at least 2X as ugly as any house I’ve seen.
Thanks for the weekend suggestions, Phil. I think I may try the olive oil, at least.
If you get the chance, look for a number with a degree sign, it tells you the acidity of the oil. The lower the acidity (less than 3% for any, less than 1% for the good stuff) the better it should taste.
Dairy Joy sounds great.
Everyone with a layover at BWI asks about the best, closest crab cake. While those can be had, most of them good, I would suggest a stop down the road at Ann’s Dari-Cream. Anytime we are on MD 2 I stop in for a Double-dog with everything and a Cherry shake. Heavenly Junk! Bonus is how obviously they stuck it to ‘The Man’ years ago when the adjacent shopping mall was built, keeping their own little nostalgic island alive.
50$ for 3 Litres? Wow! I’m spanish and my family has an olive farm (a “cortijo”). We hate italians because they buy our worst olive oil and they sell it as italian olive oil ;).
Jose: How much would you pay for 3 liters of really good olive oil in a Spanish supermarket? (Note that we have California-made olive oil here in the U.S., but it is about the same price per liter as this Spanish stuff, which is a lot better.)
The really good olive oil can only be found at delicatessen stores, and a liter can cost more than 30€. There are many different kinds of olive oil depending on the region. For example, the one you bough, Arbequina, is a variety of olives from Catalonia and it seems that it’s fashionable and highly-priced nowadays. Its price does not change so much there in USA. In Spain, it is said that the best olive oils comes from the Andalusian region of Jaen. I recommend you to ask for Andalusian olive oil Also, a friend of mine says that you should also ask for olive oil form Crete (Greece).