If you like pepper sauces then Oliverio Italian Style Peppers from Clarksburg, West Virginia is a must for your pantry. I have been eating Oliverios peppers for more than 30 years and they only seem to get better and better. Oliverio’s Cash and Cary is a small neighborhood store that over the years has developed an almost cult like following from fans of their peppers and salsas.
Oliverio Peppers come in several different temperatures from basic sweet to medium to medium/hot and finally hot. Each different one is great and I suppose it really depends on your mood at the moment which one you will want. I have used these peppers on everything from eggs to steaks to pizza to right out of the jar. But my favorite use is for a sandwich called a “Dave’s Special”.
Located near Clarksburg WV, home of Oliverio’s is Elkins, WV and when I was a kid back in the early 70’s we would sometimes go to a restaurant called “Dave’s” (at least I think that is what it was called…..long time ago and the place has been closed for years). Anyway, they had a sandwich called a Dave’s Special which used Oliverio Peppers and it has become one of our personal favorites. The ingredients for the sandwich were simple but the taste out of this world and we have them on special occasions.
This is how you make a Dave’s Special:
Very thin sliced steak cooked for just about a minute in hot skillet with a touch of virgin olive oil. Fry a large white onion until they are clear (i prefer large sweet Vidalia onions). Next I take a hoagie bun and slice it length wise and put a generous scoop of Oliverio Peppers on the bottom. Next comes a couple slices of the thin sliced steak, then a layer of fried onions followed by two slices of provolone cheese. Next comes a couple slices of red juicy tomatoes sliced about 1/4th inch thick and then on the top bun I spread some of the Oliverio Pepper sauce. Put it all together and voila you have what we call a Dave’s Special. The next time I make one I will take some photos.
That is just one use for Olivero Italian Style Peppers. I will always have a couple jars of these on hand. Anytime I find out someone is going to WV I always ask them to check at the local store for some peppers and bring me back a case. I tried their website but it appears to be down which is a shame. The site appears to be just a landing page with general ads not really related to Oliverio’s ( http://www.oliveriopeppers.com ).
There are several places you can order Oliverio Peppers online. The best appears to be Penmac.com out of Pittsburgh, PA.
I guess I could go on about the popularity of Oliverio Peppers among West Virginian’s but I think this short story sums it up best. I went to my 30 year high school reunion last year and on the last day in Fairmont, WV before leaving to come back to Kentucky, my wife and I went to a small store I remembered in town that sold the peppers. We walked in the door and there were 4 other classmates from the reunion who lived out of state and they all had the same idea. We just about cleaned out their inventory that day.
If you want a little extra zing to your meal then give Oliverio Italian Style Peppers a try.
on Feb 19th, 2009 at 9:37 am
A friend gave me a meat pie recipe using these peppers. OH MY!
It is on my list of top 5 recipes I’ve been given. Here’s the link to her recipe. She had to send me a jar of the peppers so I could make it, well worth it. As soon as I get some more peppers, I’m going to try Dave’s Special!
http://suzannemcminn.com/forum/just-recipes/meat-pie/
I’m going to look at our local stores first, but if I can’t find the peppers here, I’m ordering a case!
on May 20th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Hello Jayne,
My name is Carlene, I live in Northern Viriginia. I guess i’m really blessed. I am a friend of Pete Oliverio. He brings me back The Oliverio sauce from Clarksville,WV. He and his significant other live here as well. I take care of her through a Home health Agency. I blesses me with so many jars of this famous families sauce. question for you… Do you have any more recipes using the Oliverio’s sauce. The meat pie sounds wonderful. I will certainly try that. if you can send me more that would be great! Thanks for your help. Love the blog.
on May 20th, 2009 at 9:27 am
ooops, this comment and question above is for suzanne as well
on Oct 20th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I know this post is almost a year old, but Oliverio’s Peppers has a “new” address, and that’s why you found that placeholder instead of their site. The new site is:
http://www.oliveriopeppers.us
BTW, the Dave’s Special sounds delicious. Thankfully, we have Oliverio’s Peppers products available to us in the RTP area of North Carolina, in the Kroger supermarkets. Their spaghetti sauce is spectacular - almost better than homemade!
on Oct 20th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Just found your site and am sooooo glad to see the recipe for Dave’s Special. We’ve been away from the Clarksburg/Nutter Fort area for over 30 years. Dave’s was one of our favorite places back in the day. We also buy jars of peppers to take back to Florida with us when we come to visit. Of course we also make a trip to Tomaro’s Bakery for wonderful Italian bread and pepperoni rolls too!! For your reader’s who haven’t experienced a pepperoni roll I would suggest Tomaro’s. They do ship their products. We think Clarksburg is UM UM good.
on Oct 30th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Nice article. The Dave special sounds alot like the old sandwich I use to get the Canteen or at Smittys Pizza in North View called a “Giovanni”.
I havent lived in WV in over 30 years but I too rememeber the awesome Peppers made by Oliverio’s. Now that I have found a way to get the peppers I will be ordering a case of the sweets myself. We make a similar sandwich as the Daves at my home now but its not the same with out the sweet goodness of the Oliverio peppers.
on Oct 31st, 2009 at 4:48 am
how can i have these products delivered to my country store in
bulk? I have Karens Kountry Store on Rte 310 south in Fairmont.
About half way between fairmont & grafton. Please Email or call
3043664567,, thank you
Karen Smallwood
on Nov 24th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Oliverio’s pepper…. SO GOOD. I am from Fairmont, Wv but now live in Columbus, Ohio and could only get peppers when I went home to visit. I would buy jars of them to bring back with me. Until one day to my surprise I found a small jar at Carfagnas. They only have the small jars and they charge over $5.00 for it but when you want it you will pay that price.. Love these on pepperoni rolls, which Ohio doesnt sell.. I miss home
on Jan 15th, 2010 at 12:52 am
I’m originally from Clarksburg, but moved to Columbus, OH about 15 years ago. Every time I go home I load up on the Oliverio’s peppers and D’Annuzio’s bread for my other transplanted Mountaineers. This year for Christmas my mom called the warehouse and they actually sell them by the case, $2.50 a jar which is cheaper then you can get them at the store, and will mail them anywhere in the country. Though shipping is quite expensive. When I got my case in the mail it felt like it was a box full of dumbells. Have been living on them for a month now.
on Feb 9th, 2010 at 9:25 am
This is for Carlene…that’s my favorite Uncle who supplies you those Oliverio peppers. You should try his roasted sweet peppers. I had them not so long ago at his house. He’s quite the chef and gardener!
Love to you Uncle Pete…Fred
on Feb 16th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
We have eaten Oliverio peppers for yrs. When my brother was in Texas in the Air Force we used to ship them by the case. My sister-in-law would make pepperoni rolls and all his buddies would come over for them, were always a favorite for watching games at their house. I use half a jar in my sauce when
I make spaghetti or lasagna, just gives it alittle more flavor, I use a small processor and cut them up and then to my sauce. They are GREAT on a grilled cheese also, my kids inhale them!!!