We Olive Offers Olive Tasting Opportunities

As I  visit wineries and walk along country roads, it seems olive trees are now growing everywhere. I even saw one in a parking lot when I was poll-watching in the 2012 election. Friends who have moved out of the area had a small olive orchard on their property. Many growers seem to think olives and grapes are good partners. So we see olives growing all around us, but we don't always get a chance to taste the olives and their oils unless we attend special events or go to farmers market. You can, however, taste olive products in downtown Paso Robles instead of waiting for a festival or farmers market. We Olive offers olive tasting opportunities. 

We Olive Olive Tasting Bar, Photo © B. Radisavljevic

We Olive Sign, Photo © B. Radisavljevic

We Olive is located at 1311 Park Street, Paso Robles. When you walk into the tasting room in Paso Robles, you are surrounded by everything olive. Each display features a particular olive product. Above you see the olive tasting bar. At the time of this writing, you can fill one of the small containers you see on the shelf with your own choices of olives from the serving containers for $8.50. 



As you enter the store,  one of the first displays you see is the balsamic vinegar tasting bar. Unfortunately there was not a good way to get rid of the light from the window when I took the picture.

Taste Balsamic Vinegar at We Olive, © B. Radisavljevic

There is also a display of olive oils that features tasting opportunities. You can see the location of the olive tasting bar in the left corner of the photo below. Have you noticed the gift items on the shelves?

Taste Olive Oil at We Olive, © B. Radisavljevic

Next time you are downtown, consider dropping in at We Olive for a taste of olive.

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This is my twenty-third post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is Things You Can See or Experience in North San Luis Obispo County. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Acorn
B is for Barney Schwartz Park
C is for Cattle in Wine Country
D is for Dark Star Cellars
E is for Electric Wires
F is for Family Farms
G is for Graveyard Vineyards
H is for Horses
Insects in My Neighborhood in April
J's Burgers in Paso Robles: A Review
Kosta is God's Gift to Me from Across the Ocean
Laguna Lake is Full Again
Mission San Miguel Photos
Niner Estates Decorated Heart Hill with Vineyards
Ocean Photos from the California Central Coast
Paso Robles Police Vehicles
Quiet Places Near Paso Robles
Red Soles Winery at Dusk
Shale Oak Winery at Dusk
Trader Joe's In Templeton is my Favorite Grocery Store
Umbrage is Abundant in the North County
Vineyards Through the Year

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G is for General Store

Until  yesterday, I didn't realize Paso Robles had such a thing as a general store. However if you rid yourself of preconceived ideas of what a general store is, Paso Robles does have one. My idea of a general store was more in line with the ones found in small towns or in the early pioneer towns where a general store tried  to carry everything a family might need to survive -- food, blankets, tools, seeds, fabric, kitchen utensils, whatever was essential for living daily life.

The General Store in Paso Robles is a bit different. It carries instead an assortment of goods that make life more pleasant and more fun -- for yourself or someone you want to gift. Its window says is has "local goods and provisions for pantry and home." Many of these are gourmet foods like jams, candied nuts, local vinegars, seasonings, olive oils, and wines. They also have a dairy case of local cheese and salami. As I was browsing, I was given a sample of the Paso Almond Brittle, and it was very tasty. Did I mention that the owner and the others manning the store were very helpful? No one will ignore you here.

Browsing the shelves is a lot of fun. It was especially so for me. I've had many years of experience selling books and buying them wholesale. I've been to Book Expo a couple of times and seen all that publishers have had to offer bookstores. Naturally my eyes were drawn to the book displays.  I saw at least two of them. One had a lot of books on cooking and wine -- a wise choice for this area where foodies abound and wine tasting is a favorite leisure activity. But since I've specialized in children's and educational books for the past twenty years, I especially liked this display.

For nine of my years in retail I was a greeting card buyer. I attended gift shows twice a year and sales reps for card publishers called me often. My goal was to have beautiful tasteful cards that were uplifting and often humorous, but never in a mean or vulgar way. Naturally when I saw a card rack in a corner on the walls, I had to check it out. I'll just say that if a sales rep had showed me these cards, I would have bought them. They are a rare find. And they have some great ones for mothers. These are just a few in the display. You can make the photo larger by clicking it to read the words.

There's not enough room to show you the whole store. You will just have to  go downtown to 841 12th Street see it for yourself. You can also preview the General Store website and their Facebook Page for a close look at some items I didn't show you here. It won't show you all the baskets, hats, books, wall hangings, towels, tote bags and other goodies you will find if you actually visit the store, though. Next time you are downtown, just stop in and look around. If you go before Mother's Day, you're sure to find something your mom or grown daughter would love -- even if it's just a bag of this scrumptious almond brittle.

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