The first of two exciting additions to the Elmwood culinary scene has opened. Tuscany on Main is filled with all sorts of edible delights that can be cooked and eaten at home with little fuss. This is the perfect type of place to pick up a delicious dinner on the way home, while also enjoying a dipping oil or two as you’re whipping up a pasta dish. There’s even a section of chocolates for that special person who is always in need of a sugary pick-me-up after dinner. I spoke to owner Jim Maloney who was happy to answer a couple of questions that I had for him regarding the business:
How many olive oils do you have ready for tasting at any given time?
We have over 35 olive oils and 30 vinegars on display and available for tasting each and every day. It is important to have them available to our customers to taste because there is nothing like trying something before you buy it. And for many people, they may not have tried a habanero or basil olive oil or a chocolate balsamic until they came into our store. As we say “experience the taste.”
What are your most popular oils and vinegars?
Our most popular oils are garlic, basil and blood orange while raspberry, lemon and the aged balsamics are the most popular vinegars. But tastes will often vary with the seasons. For example, porcini mushroom, espresso and saba are some of the most popular as we make roasts, soups and stews for the cold months. In the summer, oils and vinegars that go great over fresh tomatoes and peppers from the farmers’ markets will increase in sales.
With limited shelf space, how did you go about finally deciding on Elena’s brand (for example) as your pasta and marinara sauce of choice? What other pastas do you carry?
The same selection process is used throughout the store. We look for only the highest quality, distinct and natural products. For example, we have two different companies that we work with on our all natural pastas. These are the finest pastas in the world and are made with flower, egg and different vegetables for coloring. For example, green is made with spinach, orange is squash and yellow is egg. No food dyes, artificial flavorings or preservatives that we all dread when we look at a label. One of the pastas comes directly from Italy and is all handmade. But each company does things a little different so we select particular products from each to carry in the store giving our customers the very best of both worlds.
Tell us about items such as your pastas, jarred pesto, tomato bruschetta sauces, etc… What other sauces do you carry?
Because we are NOT a franchise, we can carry any product we like. This is really important to us. For example, we currently have five different suppliers of oils and vinegars. That number will jump by two or three in the next month as we begin to import our own signature olive oils. These oils have been hand selected by Marco who lives in Tuscany during harvest time and travels to the olivetos in search of the finest olive oils for us. After he selects them Tuscany on Main then imports them for our customers. Being independent allows us to select only the finest olive oils and vinegars from a number of different suppliers and farmers.
How do you research all of the products that you carry?
It is a tough job, but someone has to go to all these food shows and travel the country and world looking for great products. My wife and I and our kids travel together and look for great products for our stores. Trust me, at the end of the day you feel like you could use a few Tums because you’ve tried so many different foods. But that is how you get great products. Taste the product, talk to the people and see if you like them not only as a company, but as person. We only work with small, family owned businesses like ours which is another way in insure quality.
I see that you stock crackers, chocolates and jarred olives. What other sorts of goodies can people expect to find?
We carry not only the olive oils and vinegars, but also a vast selection of artisan dips and spreads. Some of our favorites are parmesan asiago, piquillo jalapeno bruschetta and sun-dried tomato olive tapenade and caramelized onion balsamic spread. We have over 20 different types of dips, spreads, bruschettas and tapenades many of them available for tasting as well.
Recently a customer mentioned we have all these wonderful dips and spreads but could use some crackers to spread them on. So, off we went to find an artisan cracker. How about olive oil and cracked pepper or sea salt and rosemary flatbread crackers to put that dip on? The important thing is to listen to your customers . . . . they know more than we do.
A great “find” we recently made are Italian chocolates from a woman who studied in Florence, Italy. These are not your standard milk chocolates, but rather true Italian chocolates. We have truffles with sea salt, blood orange and balsamic.
Tuscany on Main strives to work with small, family owned businesses that make only the finest, wholesome and natural products available. Please stop by next Thursday December 8th for our preview party from 5:00-7:00pm. Bistro Europa is doing food and Nickel City Cheese a tasting!
Tuscany on Main
425 Elmwood
Buffalo NY 14222
716-886-2100