Another week closer to spring and another visit to the farmers’ market with Chef Paul Canales and Bill Fujimoto. This week, we hit the Derby Street market in Berkeley to see some truly awesome specimens of artichoke grown by the one and only Maria Catalan of Catalan Farms in Hollister. Paul explains how they will be used in the Oliveto kitchen & gives some good tips on what to do with those tough outer leaves.
Bill makes a case for water damage & reveals the mind-boggling fact that those baby carrots in a bag can stored up to eight months! Yikes.
*Maria Catalan’s stuffed artichokes will be on the menu through this weekend.
Pamela Barnes stopped by this weekend to offer us some of the huge, beautiful Jerusalem artichokes she grows in her home garden in El Sobrante. Chef Canales says these are some of the best he has ever seen. Pamela’s sunchokes are currently being served in a salad with aged Provolone cheese and Meyer lemon. Artichokes also abound, and appear throughout the menu. The beginning of choke season corresponds nicely with the tail end of Dungeness crab season, making for a brief but delicious window of time in the Oliveto kitchen.
Keeping true to our mission of shining the spotlight on the talent & moxie of all of our suppliers, we’ll take this opportunity to also give Pamela a plug: not only a master gardener and wallpaper expert, Pamela is also a playwright and lyricist. Her play, Josephine, the Pirate Queen, will have a run at The Knox Center for the Performing Arts, on the Contra Costa College Campus, July 7 -10, 2010.
Last June we were troubled, as many were, to learn the news that Bill Fujimoto would be leaving Berkeley’s Monterey Market. Bill has been a friend and supporter of Oliveto from day one, and to many restaurants. More importantly, Bill has been a virtual lifeline for many small farmers in northern California and beyond. We were anxious around the possibility of losing such an influential voice and presence in the East Bay food community and eager to keep in contact with both Bill and his wife Judy once it became apparent that a suitable arrangement with Monterey Market would not be forthcoming.
Our favorite sheep herder, Don Watson, stopped by yesterday with our first spring lamb. Born just after Thanksgiving, these lamb have been raised primarily on milk and more recently, have been grazing on mustard and clover. Don’s flock has a wide grazing range in and around Los Carneros overlooking San Pablo Bay, including many vineyards. It’s a symbiotic relationship, with the sheep gaining additional space to roam and forage while the vineyards are cleared of brush and fertilized. Continue reading ‘This Just In: Spring Lamb’
Traditional-style Brunello producer Francesco Ripaccioli, of the small, very fine estate Canalicchio di Sopra, will spend the evening with us Thursday, February 25. A number of his wines will be available by-the-glass and in flights, and Francesco himself will be available throughout the evening to discuss Brunellos in general and Canalicchio in particular. The menu will be à la carte, with some special additions in honor of our guest. Please join us.
Caterina Mazzocolin of Felsina will be in town next week for Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri and will stop by Oliveto on Tuesday night to share some olive oils from the 2009 harvest. A complimentary tasting of three different oil varieties (Leccino 2009, Moraiolo 2009, and Plurivarietale 2009) will be offered with dinner. Also, the menu will include some Tuscan dishes prepared by Chef Canales to accompany these truly beautiful oils. And of course, we’ll have a number of Fèlsina wines available by-the-glass or in various flights. Please join us.
After years of nagging, our wonderful Tuscan friends are coming for a brief visit. The Sacchini family, Giorgio, Paola and Denise will be here in Oakland this coming weekend. Giorgio has been the Oliveto truffle hunter and agent for the past 14 years, and also the main reason we’ve been able to get our hands on the very best truffles for our annual truffle dinners.
The Sacchinis will be in the Oliveto Cafe this Sunday night, February 14th. We’re not exactly sure what they’ll be doing, but they’ll be making some food and hanging out.
We stay with Giorgio every time we visit Tuscany, as have many of our friends. They have a wonderful agriturismo: http://www.agriturismoporcellina.it/
Saturday was a big success. $17,297 was raised for Haiti earthquake survivors. Seventeen-thousand-two-hundred-and-ninety-seven dollars! Wow. Thank you to everyone who came out & showed their support & gave so generously. A special thanks to Adelmise Warner for organizing the event & getting us involved.
East Bay Community Benefit to Help Haiti at Oliveto Restaurant
Saturday, January 30, 2010
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Food and drinks (including wine) provided with your choice of donation from $25 (minimum per adult) to $300+ cash or check payable to “American Red Cross” (write “Haiti Earthquake” in Memo)
Featuring guest speakers Blaine Bookey, Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) Legal Fellow and Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) Development Director and Walter Riley, prominent Civil Rights Attorney in Oakland and Chair of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund in Berkeley
Adelmise Warner, a St. Teresa School parent, recently asked us if we would host a fundraiser to benefit Haiti earthquake victims. We agreed, and immediately started fielding offers of donations from cafe regulars to pig farmers. We’ve been moved by the outpouring & the event hasn’t even happened yet! That is to say, we’ve got some excellent prizes lined up for the silent auction, and some smaller, but also excellent prizes lined up for the raffle including: Continue reading ‘Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser’
