Chicago - March 20, 2007

Oils Well That Ends Well

City Olive Opens

In your opinion, olives rank right up (or rather, down) there with pickled pigs’ feet.

Your foodie friends think you’ve lost your marbles. They say shunning olives is the pits.

Rekindle your love for the fruit at City Olive, opening today in Andersonville. Specializing in imported olive oils, City Olive was dreamt up by Karen Rose, a former nurse who now uses her bedside manner to sweet-talk international distributors and producers.

The result? A bounty of rare — and delicious — goods from Europe, South America, and Africa. But that’s not oil (har har): They also sell infused vinegars, mustards, tapenades, sea salts, and other foreign treats like Spanish sausage and Italian pastas.

City Olive holds daily tastings, so you can slowly begin to embrace the once-forbidden fruit.

And maybe even go whole hog.

City Olive, 5408 North Clark Street, at Balmoral Avenue (773-878-5408).