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For years (most of my life) I did not care for olive oil.  Sure, I used it for cooking but as sparingly as possible.  I could NOT understand why one would dip perfect-melt-in-your-mouth bread into it! Ugh! Bread was made for soft, creamy butter.  That may even be why bread was created…as a vehicle to deliver delicious butter to one’s mouth.  I did not drizzle olive oil over pizza or pasta…UNTIL I figured out the inexpensive oil I was buying at the local market is crap! It was relatively flavorless and just greasy.  Come to find out…all olive oils are not the same!

I stopped shopping at the grocery store for olive oil and found many different brands and varieties.  I believed that Italian olive oil must be the best and would pick up bottles when I found them.  They were better but not delicious. FACT: Most Italian olive oil isn’t even from Italy! It is a blend from other areas like Greece. Italian crops aren’t great enough to fill the need in Italy, let alone export to the United States.)

As I let go of my negative feelings about olive oil, I started trying it in restaurants and stores specializing in oils and vinegars.  The first one I found that was really great (at least to me) was from Queen Creek Olive Mill right in my own backyard.  The Balanced and Delicate are excellent for cooking, dipping, drizzling. Plus, I LOVE that it is a company local to my community.

Then one day we ate at our #1 favorite pizza spot, Pizzeria Bianco.  I sat happily dipping their delectable wood fired oven baked bread into this rich, buttery olive oil (all thoughts of butter banished from my brain). It was heavenly. Then I ordered the mozzarella and tomato salad which was drizzled with the same oil and I tell you I would order it every day if I could. (If you like tomatoes, cheese and basil you MUST order this if you are Pizzeria Bianco! You owe it to yourself!) We inquired with the bartender (who is awesome!!), and he informed us they serve Pacific Sun Proprietor’s Blend. Their sister restaurant, Pane Bianco, sells it. We paid our bill and hightailed it over there to pick some up for our next Friday night pizza soiree.

That evening we took the “Pepsi Challenge” to compare our previous go-to and Proprietor’s Blend. Although the old standby is excellent, there is just something about the Pacific Sun oil that edged out Queen Creek.  The flavor is rich. The color a deeper shade of green.  The aroma is strong before it even touches your palette (my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it!). We now use it nearly exclusively. It is drizzled on our white pizza with rosemary and mixed with crushed red paper flakes and Italian seasoning for dipping.  It is in the batter and skillet for our cast iron skillet pancakes.

Although it is our favorite, everyone’s taste is different. We had friends for dinner and did the challenge. Our friend immediately was drawn to the appearance of the Queen Creek oil.  She ended up choosing that oil over Pacific Sun. Just goes to show, we truly eat with our eyes first.

So if you are like the old me and disinterested in olive oil, I encourage you to keep looking. Try local or California varieties. Ask what is used at your local pizzeria and keep trying until you find your perfect olive oil. Although we buy them locally, our two favorites can be shipped directly to your home by ordering online at

Queen Creek Olive Mill

Pacific Sun Olive Oil

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