Now Open: In Cleveland Park, Palena's retail shop, featuring "pasta from Naples, olive oil from Liguria, toasted cornmeal, local honey and Pronto coffee," started operations on Friday. Also, Peregrine Espresso has opened its second location, at 14th Street NW between R and S streets. [WaPo; DCist]

Wisconsin Avenue Trio? The local burger chain Z-Burger, which has locations on Wisconsin Avenue in Tenleytown and Glover Park is now, apparently, planning to open a third location, this time in Georgetown on, you guessed it, Wisconsin Avenue! (Maybe Z-Burger should rebrand itself as a Wisconsin-themed burger joint with specialty cheeses from the Dairy State?) [Georgetown Metropolitan]

Cyclical Circa: The current tenant in the former Wrap Works space in Dupont Circle, Circa, benefits from its location at Connecticut Avenue and Q Street NW: "I had been to Circa a few times before—beau loves it—and enjoyed my meal, but never had any burning desire to go back. But, someone always suggests it because the patio is lovely, and off we go." [Bitches Who Brunch]

Do It Yourself: How about some Vietnamese coffee? "Easy enough to whip up at home, there's nothing like watching the curls of thick, syrupy condensed milk swirl through your after-dinner cup." [Serious Eats]

Good Idea? An olive oil and balsamic vinegar store is gearing up to open in Shirlington. But is there "business potential for a store built around two products that many people consider a twice-a-year purchase at the grocery store" ... ? There is certainly some eager excitement, but there are some doubters, too, that this place can make it: "If someone seriously thinks this store concept is viable, it’s a sure sign that the Great Recession is over." [ARLNow]

Top photo by Flickr user Mr. T in DC using an Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license; Bottom photo by Flickr user avlxyz using an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

While others are excited by the holiday season, a few of us are excited by a whole different season: the olio novello season, the time of year when Italian new-harvest oil starts coming into the country.

When I was in Philly a week ago, I asked the owner of Claudio's when its house-brand, new-harvest oil from Puglia would be arriving. He replied that it had just arrived that morning; it was in the back and, if I could wait 15 or 20 minutes, he'd get me a bottle.

My short wait was rewarded with a bottle of the full-bodied, almost translucent green ambrosia. "You're the first person in the city to get this," he said. "I haven't even had the chance to have any."

When I got back to D.C., I looked around to see what new oils might have arrived here. At Dean & DeLuca, I found some great Frescobaldi from Chianti in Tuscany and a wonderful Olio Verde from Sicily. (Note: I also found an oil with a harvest date of 2007. Shame on them.)

I also found a 2009 harvest Tunisian oil at, of all places, Le Pain Quotidien. I haven't been to A. Litteri, which might carry the new stuff, or Bella Italia, which might, too.

In seeing who has what, I came across a place headquartered in Fairfax that seems to be an online retailer only. It's called olio2go, and along with Olio Verde, it also has the amazing Tenuta di Capezzana. By the way, the lovely new-harvest Tiburtini, from an ancient estate outside Rome, is already sold out at Zingerman's online.

The point is, the season some of us wait all year for has arrived. Usually costing from about $25-$42 (although some go much higher), a liter of what is known simply as "new oil" — so peppery and aggressive and alive and quite unlike the oil once it has settled down in a couple of months — is a special gift for anyone who loves olive oil.

Check out your local stores, because the 2009 Italians (and Tunisians and who knows who else) are here!

Photo by WordRidden via Flickr Creative Commons, Attribution License

Here, once again, are the Top 10 items from the week, as decided by you, the loyal reader:

1. NBC Washington Calls Lauriol Plaza the 'Best Mexican Food in D.C.'

2. Food Tats: Cupcakes Are the New Skulls

3. The New Generation of Hershey's Kisses Cookies for the Holidays

4. When Sex and Food Go Too Far

5. Finally, Scientific Evidence on America's Best Tasting Mass-Production Beer

6. Todd Wiss Out as Executive Chef at Black's Bar and Kitchen

7. Y&H Contest: Create Your Own Gross Holiday Cookie

8. Will the Economy Kill the Lunch Buffet?

9. NPR: Connecticut Takes On the Slimy Elements of the Olive Oil Business

10. The Matchbox Dare: Dry Your Hands in the 'Airblade'

Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell ordered food inspectors to test the suspicious product.

"We came across cans of olive oil that were for sale in Connecticut that had, after testing, these other oils in there — peanut oil, soy oil, hazelnut oil," Farrell says.

In April 2007, FDA investigators and U.S. Marshals seized more than 10,000 cases of olive oil from storage facilities in New York and New Jersey. It turned out that tins labeled as extra virgin contained mostly soybean oil mixed with low grade olive-pomace oil. The seized products had an estimated retail value of more than $700,000. Amusing as it may sound, Farrell says there's a serious side to the story.

"We saw it as not only that the consumer was being cheated, but their health was being put at risk by these oils being in there and it not being disclosed in any way," he says.

For many people with serious food allergies, nut oils can be fatal. So Connecticut became the first state in the nation to enact standards to protect the purity of olive oil.

The time has come for other states to follow suit.

Photo by Flickr user WordRidden