March 3rd, 2010 by Catherine Meng
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ho better to tell us what we should be shopping for than Bill himself? So, we’ll be posting Bill’s Farmers’ Market Reports – full of fun facts, shopping tips, and insightful observations throughout the spring and into the summer. We’ll go shopping with Bill at some of our favorite farmers’ markets in the…
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February 17th, 2010 by Catherine Meng
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Caterina Mazzocolin will be in town next week for Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri and will stop by Oliveto on Tuesday night to share some of Fèlsina’s 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…
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February 11th, 2010 by Bob Klein
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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…
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January 7th, 2010 by Catherine Meng
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The season may provide fewer options by way of available produce, but Chef Canales uses his skillful creativity (not to mention his supersonic hearing!) to devise a slew of excellent dishes for the winter menu. Add to that one of the best chanterelle seasons in the a while, and you’ve got some serious deliciousness coming out of the Oliveto kitchen right now….
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December 19th, 2009 by Catherine Meng
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New Year’s Eve is a favorite time at Oliveto. The menu is spectacular, the atmosphere is celebratory, lively music is played, and when the mood strikes…there is dancing. This year will be no exception. In fact, the menu is shaping up to be even more tricked out than usual, now that Chef Canales has set his sights on a meal celebrating the wintry, soul satisfying cuisine of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. We’ll have Chef Canales’s full menu…
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December 9th, 2009 by Catherine Meng
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We stopped by the Derby Street Farmers’ Market in Berkeley yesterday to talk with some of our farmers about how they’ve been dealing with the recent mercury plunge. Both Riverdog Farm and Full Belly Farm in Guinda lost electricity, and had problems with irrigation lines freezing. There was a mad dash before the cold set in to harvest as much broccoli, cauliflower, and celery root as possible. Many recent transplants, too fragile…
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December 4th, 2009 by Catherine Meng
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Truffles, done. Thanksgiving, done. Post-Thanksgiving-tryptophan-induced-stupor, done.
We are now ready to stop goofing around get seriously SEASONAL. And what’s more seasonal then chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Well, how about hot mulled cider? Because we’ve got that too!
Our expert chestnut roaster, Sarah will be in front of Oliveto roasting chestnuts though…
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November 30th, 2009 by Catherine Meng
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On Thursday, December 9th, we’ll celebrate the publication of his book with a special dinner prepared by Chef Canales paired with Bonny Doon wines, including some older vintages. We’ll hear about the preparations for his adventure, and wish him well. Dinner, wines and your own copy of “Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology,”…
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November 9th, 2009 by Bob Klein
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Truffles are just now coming on, I encountered my first exceptional truffles last night, at the back door of Ristorante Antine in Barbaresco–I didn’t have to put my nose to it, it overwhelmed me from across the kitchen. Prices remain very low, we won’t be able to set the price for Oliveto Truffle dinners until we actually acquire them, but they should be…
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November 4th, 2009 by Maggie Blyth Klein
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The olive harvest has begun in most northern hemisphere olive growing regions. The first cold-pressed oils are called “new oils,” with their very special and fleeting characteristic vegetal flavor and “heat” in the throat. That profound vibrancy lasts only about two weeks before it subsides and the oil stabilizes as…
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