Garlic & Oil flavors the town with exquisite gourmet foods

By Laurie Gordon
SPARTA — A flavor boutique specializing in great gourmet food and gifts is thriving in White Deer Plaza on the shores of Lake Mohawk in Sparta. Throughout the years, owner Kathryn Kaplan has changed around, added and subtracted, and done what it's taken to keep the store a go-to for unique gifts, gourmet food, fabulous baskets and exquisite, hard-to-find oils and vinegars.
Kaplan said, "I have always loved to cook and entertain and in 2001, living in the wild’s of Sparta, I was frustrated by the lack of sources for quality, unusual ingredients to make everyday meals and entertaining special."
She decided to give a gift and specialty food store a try. Garlic & Oil first opened in July of 2001 and was a 900 square-foot space located across from the Post Office on Main Street in Sparta.
"It was a great place to start although there were some drawbacks such as exposure, parking, etc," Kaplan said. "It was a small space that would not take a lot of inventory to fill and try out. In addition the landlord was a very nice, understanding guy and I knew if it did not work he would not give me a hard time about breaking the lease."
After a year, it became clear that the store would work, and Kaplan moved to a larger location at 270 Sparta Avenue in Upper Lake Plaza. "The original store had a lot more home furnishing items in it in addition to gourmet items but the second store focused mainly on gourmet foods and everything you would need to entertain or just make a great, easy, delicious meal for your family."
The store also did well at the new location and built a following of loyal customers. In 2012, Kaplan decided to add an olive oil and vinegar tasting bar. She started with about 16 different oils and vinegars at the store in Upper Lake Plaza.
In 2015, Kaplan lost the lease to her location in Upper Lake Plaza and said, "I was somewhat forced out." She added, "I had been going month to month for years, something that worked well both for myself and the landlord. Someone, however, came in and offered him a great deal more than I was paying and could afford, so after 14 years I was out with 30 days notice closing at the end of September."
Kaplan said she was in shock and did not think she would re-open the store.
"I honestly thought I was done, and frankly closing was so emotionally devastating and tiring that I was sort of in a fog. As luck would have it, as October/November rolled around I started to get calls on my cell from previous corporate customers who were hoping I could still do their holiday baskets. So I was back in the saddle again."
Janet Tikkanen, who has been with Kaplan for over 10 years and is manager of the store, worked with Kaplan to do hundreds of baskets in the basement of Kaplan's house for the holidays.
"All of my vendors were thrilled to still work with me so getting the merchandise needed to make that happen was not a problem," Kaplan said. "Around the same time I was approached by Ginny Moriarty, the person who bought and renovated my new building and I took the plunge once again."
Garlic & Oil again had a store front in 2015, now in the heart of Lake Mohawk in White Deer Plaza. Knowing how popular the oil and vinegar bar had been at the former location, Kaplan upped the ante to offer 46 varieties and that number continues to grow.
"There is huge tourist traffic flow down in the Plaza, so we have also greatly increased our offering of Sparta/Lake Mohawk logo merchandise," she said. "In addition, the store has more floor space so we have increased our entertaining/hostess gift categories as well as expanded certain gourmet food classifications."
In 2015, Kaplan spearheaded a drive to support the Sparta Summer Concert Series. She's still a huge supporter of the series.
"Two years ago we had a fund drive, last year we contributed $500.00 to keep the concert series going and this year we are working with the group to come up with a new fundraising effort, as well as again contributing $500.00 of our own money for 2017," she said.
All oils and vinegars are not the same
All oils are not the same, and over the years, Kaplan has become quite a connoisseur.
"The difference is similar to the difference between hamburger and filet mignon," she said. "There is a purpose for both, but they make very different dishes and have a completely different flavor profile and texture. One should always look for First Cold Pressed, Extra Virgin Olive Oil no matter where it is purchased, as that is the basic best quality. It means that it is the first time the olive fruit has been touched and no heat is used to extract the juice. Heat dissipates quality and flavor yet, just like a lemon right out of the fridge, you get less juice when it is cold than when it is warm. So less is produced, therefore it is more expensive. The rule of thumb for olive oil is that if you're sauteing onions to throw in a marinara sauce, you still want a first cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil, but Bertolli or other store brands are just fine."
She explained, "You want a great olive oil — the kind that you get at Garlic & Oil — if it is the last thing you use and the first thing you taste. Like for salads, drizzling over meats, poultry, fish, etc. And the flavored oils, like Tuscan Herb or Wild Mushroom Sage really take food to the next level."
Regarding vinegars, Kaplan said, "The difference is much greater and frankly unless you need a basic wine-based vinegar there is no reason to use grocery store vinegar. Primarily because all of our vinegars are aged, so just like a fine wine they become mellow. Some are cooked down and carmelized so it makes them much thicker and sweeter than anything you can find in the grocery store. And they are not just for salads. They make great marinades or are delicious on their own. Marinate flank steak in our Fig Balsamic then drizzle a little over after it is cooked and sliced and boy it is delicious. Roast root veggies like butternut squash, carrots, parsnips or even brussel sprouts in our Maple Balsamic and wow, it it so easy and so delicious and totally special."
One of the best things about Garlic & Oil is that customers can try any of the oils and vinegars. "They are always open to taste, we have bread to dunk and we have the personalized service someone needs to really understand the product and how to use it."
Garlic & Oil has built a reputation for having these products.
"The oil and vinegars are our number one items in the store in terms of popularity," Kaplan said. "Other things have remained constant in terms of popularity in each of our locations like pretzels and pretzel dip and or course our artisan handmade cheese. The Lake Mohawk and Sparta merchandise, coasters, pillows, wine glasses to name just a few are big sellers. And of course our BBQ sauces and marinades are much in demand."
A gift haven
"We are definitely well known for our gift baskets primarily because although they may cost more than the mail order ones you can get, they have actual real stuff in them which taste great," Kaplan said. "In the basket business world there are items which they call 'Basket Fill' items that are made to make a basket look big but are inexpensive to the the wholesaler. So for instance there will be three small cookies in a large box which takes up space and makes the basket look big. We never use that kind of product. We instead use what we sell in our store, gourmet foods that are truly delicious and make a big difference in flavor. I can not tell you the thousands of times we have received new orders because someone was given or sent a basket and loved it."
With Valentine's Day on the horizon, Garlic & Oil will feature special baskets geared toward that special person in your life. As well, they have something unique: gift certificates that never expire.
"I just don’t think it is right to put a limit on that," Kaplan said, "As a consumer there have been many times that I have received a gift certificate and forgot about it or just could not use it quickly only to have it no longer be valid. I personally hate that and professionally think it is a kind of theft. Someone did pay for it and money was collected. Obviously it is difficult for the retailer to honor something for which they were paid two years ago because the money is long gone but it is the right thing to do in my mind. Not knowing that we were going out of business in 2015 we sold gift certificates until we knew we were going to lose our lease and we honored those in the new store. It is the same for returns. I never want someone to have something from Garlic & Oil that they don’t want. So if they want money back they can have it They don’t have to have store credit. I want customers to be happy with our products and have trust in us that we will stand behind what we sell. We know that sometimes people are hesitant to purchase things in small stores because there are limitations. We want to rid them of that feeling."
Garlic & Oil offers some unique platters. "We carry quite a bit of unusual, hand-made cheese and charcuterie that you can’t find anywhere near by. Like our Truffle D’affinois. It is a triple cream (creamy like a Brie) which means it is 75% butterfat (very naughty, Brie is 45 to 50%) and studded with truffles. Or our Cambozola Black Label, a German Triple Cream studded with blue cheese. You may not like traditional blue cheese but you can’t not like this."
Some of the more hard to find items at Garlic & Oil begin with their oils and vinegars, the breadth and quality of which are certainly hard to come by elsewhere.
"Things like Truffle Parmesan Salt you won’t find just anywhere, and even our more basic items you can’t duplicate in the grocery store. For instance, once you have Stonewall Kitchen Pancake/Waffle Mix, you will never go back to Bisquick. It just isn’t possible! And we have 8 varieties! The same with our pastas. We have 20 varieties, all organic, all hand-made in Italy and they are truly delish," Kaplan said. "Compare them side by side to any normal store bought pasta and you will understand why they cost more not just from the flavor bt because they are made using special copper molds which form tiny indentations on the pasta causing the sauce to stick to each and every piece. How many times have you made pasta or even ordered it in a restaurant and had all the sauce slide to the bottom of the bowl. Not with this pasta. It sucks up the sauce, literally."
Kaplan said, "I really am very, very blessed. I have a team of people, Janet Tikkanen, Linda Walsh, Joan Monroe and Anna Ferrera who have worked with me for years. It takes a lot to do what we do and I really could not do this without them. We are like a well oiled machine. And I have such wonderful, loyal, kind customers, many of whom have shopped at Garlic and Oil since day one and most of whom have become personal friends. I am very grateful."
Garlic & Oil is located at 12 White Deer Plaza in Sparta. For further information, calll 973-729-0080 or visit garlicandoil.com. They are also on Facebook.