Olives

Dry-cured or brine-cured, green or purple or even pink, olives are incomparably full of flavor. Prices below are given by the pound unless specified otherwise.

* Bay City Importing Co.: This bustling store offers dry-cured Moroccans, cracked green Sicilians with garlic, tender little French Nicoises and black Italian Gaetas with a rich, briny flavor. You’ll also find a subtle pink olives cured with coriander and lemon. (Moroccan, $5.98; garlic Sicilian, $6.98; Nicoise, $5.98; Gaeta, $5.98; pink coriander, $5.98.) Bay City Importing, 1517 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 395-8279.

* Pascal Epicerie: At least six types of French olives are available year round. You’ll now find cracked greens, Nicoises, Nyons, Picholines and Lucques. A spicy cocktail mix and a tapenade sauce are also on hand. (Olives, $9.50; cocktail mix, $9.50; tapenade, $10.95.) Pascal Epicerie, 1000 Bristol St., Newport Beach, (949) 261-9041.

* Mister Marcel: Choose among 14 olives, including Lucques, Moroccan and Spanish green olives stuffed with anchovies. There are also special olive dishes with little bowls attached for the pits. (Lucques, $4.99 per half pound; Moroccan, $3.69, half pound; stuffed green olives, $4.49, half pound; olive plate, $6.98-$8.98.) Mister Marcel, Hollywood Farmers Market, 6333 W. Third St., Los Angeles, (323) 939-7792.

* The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills: Here there are meaty Cerignolas and black Sicilians, strongly flavored black Provences and Nyons, refined Lucques, Picholine or Cassis des Baux and the coriander-scented pink Beldi. (Olives, $8.99.) The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, 419 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 278-2855.

* Picholine: Olives stuffed with apricots, olives stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, even a green olive stuffed with ... a Kalamata olive. These are all found in bulk along with an exceptional list of other French and Greek olives. (Olives, $10.99.) Picholine, 3360 W. 1st. St., Los Angeles, (213) 252-8722.

* Al Dente: This market has an olive pasta salad, a cheese laced with black olives, even an olive pesto, along with bulk and bottled olives from Italy and Spain. (Olive pasta salad, $6.99 per pint; Don Olivo cheese, $11.99; black olive pesto, $7.99; olives, $5.99 per pint.) Al Dente, 11092 Los Alamitos Blvd., Los Alamitos, (562) 598-1124.