By Elena Kadvany
E-mail Elena Kadvany
About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in jo...
(More)About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in journalism. Though my first love is journalism, food is a close second. I am constantly on the lookout for new restaurants to try, building an ever-expanding "to eat" list. As a journalist, I'm always trolling news sources and social media websites with an eye for local food news, from restaurant openings and closings to emerging food trends. When I was a teenager growing up in Menlo Park, I always drove up to the city on weekends with the singular purpose of finding a better meal than I could at home. But in the past year or so, the Peninsula's food culture has been totally transformed, with many new restaurants opening and a continuous stream of San Francisco restaurants coming south to open Peninsula outposts. Don't navigate this food boom hungry and alone! Feed me your tips on new chefs and eats and together we'll share them with the broader community.
(Hide)View all posts from Elena Kadvany
Want a freshly mixed, perfectly proportioned and easily transportable olive oil and vinaigrette dressing? Look no further than
Elly Olive Oil, which sells miniature bottles with individual servings of the two liquids.
Menlo Park resident Margot Pavsidis initially came up with the idea as something to be used for hotel room service or on airplanes (she worked for Philippine Airlines for several years). Each Elly Olive Oil 20-mL bottle comes with Italian Modena balsamic on the bottom and extra virgin olive oil on the top, ready to be shaken and poured on a salad or available for bread dipping. (The glass bottles are reusable, so you could purchase one and remake it on your own.)
Above: A four pack of Elly Olive Oil bottles. Photo courtesy Margot Pavsidis.
"Elly" comes from the Greek word for olive, "elies"; Pavsidis was born in Los Altos but has a Greek background.
"Whatever I can do to make your life easy, to make it entertaining, to make your guests happy and to bring people together -- that's where my heart and soul is," Pavsidis said.
Elly Olive Oil is only for sale at brick and mortar stores (not online). Local spots to purchase include Piazza's in Palo Alto, Roberts Market in Woodside, Bianchini's in Portola Valley, Andronico's in Los Altos, Draeger's Market and Beltramo's in Menlo Park. The bottles come in two, four and six packs; prices vary slightly depending on the retailer.
Next year, she'll be coming up with flavored versions.
