BON APPETIT

Desert Days

The Joshua Tree Party House Where Olive Oil Is the Drink of Choice I saw Jay Carroll swig two things straight from the bottle: One was tequila; the other was olive oil. His capacity for tequila at an all-day party was impressive! But the olive oil was no surprise. He was sipping from a Wonder Valley bottle, the desert-chic label that he created with his wife, Alison; cold-pressed, California-grown oil is their signature product. (I think this means he was drinking his own Kool-Aid.) The brand is named for a rural community in the Mojave Desert where friends lived and where they drew inspiration for their products. It’s also where the two married and later found their homesteader’s dream house in Joshua Tree, California, just down the road.