Sunday, September 1, 2013

Peanut Butter Oil and Cigar Balsamic Vinegar.

This weekend in Richmond I was on an episode of Crank Yankers, I took pictures in a museum after strictly being warned not to, and I drank a cup of fat. As usual, my awesome life twisted and turned right along with my stomach and my perfectly unusual nose.

Now, I left the choice of hotel up to Erik because if you were going to ask ME to pick a hotel I would not pick a hotel. What I WOULD do is pick a bed and breakfast which often costs way more than a hotel plus dogs. Sometimes I also pick hotels way outside my price range and then sit at the bar waiting to have a conversation with a total stranger about how hard it is to get good help. I really couldn't afford to do either of the latter because I'm poor yet highfalutin although if you're actually highfalutin for real then you should know how to spell highfalutin without spell check. That's all I have to say about that particular topic.

On another tangent I also have to say that there is a difference between a HOTEL and a MOTEL and we stayed at a MOTEL. This motel, which was a Comfort Inn, is in a part of town that is not exactly desirable albeit interesting in an urban mosaic type of way. It was $69 a night and I thought the lobby looked nice. But of course I reviewed it all on Yelp so there's not much more to say except that I had a slight Stephen King narrative in my head the entire time and getting locked out and the elevator sticking may have encouraged that particular brand of potential writing creativity, although I didn't write but had a few PG-13 dreams about a creepy guy at work which was possibly worse than an actual Room 1408 type of inspired story.

What I really wanted to do today was follow up about another preparatory blog I had written about The Olive Oil Taproom.

The Olive Oil Taproom is located in the Towne Center Shopping Center off of 250 in Richmond and is open every day with the exception of Monday.  We visited around 11 AM on Saturday and I learned a few nuggets of wisdom concerning olive oil:

1. If it's in a clear container, it ain't right. Olive oil, like hydrogen peroxide and beer need a dark bottle.

2. If it's dated "best buy" you best leave it alone. You go by the press date and know you've got a year and a half or two years maximum until it gets rancid.

3. Buy oils that don't claim product of more than one vicinity.

I personally had a ball. There are so many variations of olive oils and, like wine tasting, I was able to project my crazy taste buds into the flavors of, not only oils, but also balsamic vinegars. The pineapple was reminiscent of cigar and the lime was bit like licking a table after wiping it down with lemon Pledge.



However, on a serious note, I would have to direct you to the butternut squash oil. As an individual familiar with nut allergies, this oil smelled and tasted like peanut butter. What a wonderful opportunity for someone allergic to nuts! I bought a bottle for a friends whose children are allergic to nuts. You could combine the oil with an ice cream base to make a peanut butter dessert or even possibly fudge or another confection!



The Olive Oil Tasting Room was definitely a highlight of my weekend being that I am a foodie. I will be back to buy Christmas presents so that I can play a greasy kind of Italian Santa this year for all my Screw Crew associates.