Olive Oil Tasting at DeLallo’s

My name is Mary Miller and I’m the owner of The Fork and The Road, LLC.  I grew up in western Pennsylvania and have been finding hidden culinary treasures in and around the area for a long time. My obsession  with food road trips began in the 60s when a Sunday drive to visit my Aunt Betty in Latrobe always involved a stop at  ”The Italian Store”  (also known as DeLallo’s) on Route 30 in Jeannette.  Check out  the map which is part of my logo  and you’ll see that the fork is placed right by DeLallo’s. It’s a place that’s near and dear to me to this day. A trip to Aunt Betty’s was always fun, but a stop at The Italian Store, where long sticks of spicy pepperoni were stacked next to briny vats of black olives and the scent of Provolone cheese filled the air,  was the icing on the cake, maybe the powdered sugar on the cannoli.  So DeLallo’s is where it all began.

On the road again.

During the past few years, since the empty nest opened up a whole new patch of free time,  I found myself  on more and more food adventures. Scouting out artisan cheese deep in the valleys near Carlisle, maple syrup from a fifth generation sugarer near Somerset and remnants of the Bulgarian bakeries in Homestead filled my days. I began blogging about my adventures, then dragging friends on my trips, then taking small groups on specially designed culinary tours. I also began speaking to groups about western Pennsylvania’s culinary treasures and Pittsburgh’s food heritage.  My background as a registered dietitian and my experience in local media only strengthened my ability to help people to understand and appreciate our food, farmers and chefs and to begin to explore the unique way Western Pa cuisine connects us all. My food philosophy is fairly simple.  I’m interested in what’s hot and what’s good for me, but I believe that holding on to food memories and traditions is just as important as adding flax, ground of course . .never whole . . to our diets. I support small farms, locally made products and independent restaurant and business owners.  I prefer foods with ingredients that I can pronounce, but once in a while succumb to a Banana Flip or a Nik-L-Nip. Or anything that involves marshmallow.  I don’t judge when it comes to food preferences, but instead I am eager to  expand my understanding of our food marketplace and culinary choices and share my finds with others.

Welcome to my food adventures!

Contact me at: mary@theforkandtheroad.com or at 412.576.1755

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