Fresh tomatoes, grilled zucchini, chilled soup, just-baked supper pizza or garden-snipped salad greens. These are joys of late summer. The only garnish they want is a sprinkle of herbs, a pinch of salt and what else? My go-to answer is, a drizzle of grassy, fruity and sometimes peppery extra-virgin olive oil.

Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. on Penn Avenue in the Strip District just received a shipment of Spanish evoo. (Aren't you glad Food Network celeb Rachael Ray shortened seven-syllable, extra-virgin olive oil to its initials?)

With the economy coming back, we're seeing more and better oil choices. These three oils are all from the largest cooperative in Andalusia. They match three budget levels in both pricing and in size of container.

• Rincon de la Subbetica, Organic. Rincon means corner, and Subbetica is a national park; this oil comes from a nature preserve in the corner of the park. A long graceful neck and gorgeous label on this boxed 500-milliter (17-ounce) bottle attract the eye to the high-end oil. But it's the smooth, grassy flavors that get the real praise. Experts have given it 70 mentions and awards since 2006. The bottle is $26.99.

• Parqueoliva. You've seen this one. Its gold label features the silhouette of a woman in a large hat, and she's holding a stick for beating the olive trees. Tasted straight off a spoon, the oil has a peppery note. That's good because pepper and bitter nuances are signs of high levels of antioxidants; they disappear when paired with food. This oil also gets lots of annual international recognition, too. Since 2006, it has picked up 45 mentions and awards. The 17-ounce bottle is $12.29, the 25-ounce bottle is $14.49.

• Carruca. The oil is from hojiblanca, picudo and piquel olives. It stands up well under heat and has a wonderful pepper finish. It might be too peppery for, say, a dipping oil for some people, but it's excellent for splashing on a pizza or drizzling on grilled fish or vegetables. The oil comes in a whopping 5-liter plastic container and sells for $30, which works out to about 5 quarts at $6 each. Too much oil? Why not get a couple of families together and divvy up? Penn Mac owner Dave Sunseri says, "Conservative people sometimes buy 8 ounces of oil and dribble it out. But families like mine can use up a gallon in no time. At this price, the oil is a steal."

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