Location: Covelo, CA in Mendocino County

Owner: William “Sparky” Bauer

Sparky is a fifth generation, Native American/German cattle rancher.  He runs Angus and Hereford cattle, wintering them up in the mountains and summer pasture in Round Valley (where Covelo is located).  All of his herd is grass-fed and grass-finished.

Only once or twice a year does a fruit come along that I feel is featured best by serving on its own, without setting it in a composed dessert context.  That time has come with the wonderful Flavor King pluots from Brookside Farm in Brentwood, CA.

Upon their arrival, these pluots perfumed the kitchen, drawing Sous Chef Brian Murphy to the three cases I ordered from farmer Welling Tom.  Burying his face in the box, Brian came up for air and said “it’s like putting your face in a bag of mixed Jelly Beans!”  He and I also agreed the pluots tasted like bubblegum, vanilla, and Hello Kitty erasers.  If all of those things sound bad to you, consider Brian’s analogy: marvelous tropical flowers that seem to have been copied from overblown, tacky plastic flowers.   “It’s like Nature copying bad Art… except when Nature does it, it’s wonderful.”

Juicy, sweet, their golden flesh veined with fuchsia… these pluots are so delightful, I feel compelled only to peel off the tart skin and serve them sliced in a bowl to make for a sublime eating experience. Look for them on the menu this Thursday.

Jenny Raven Pastry Chef

Illustration by Jenny Raven

UPDATE: See the revised schedule

It is late spring and this is the time to be eating beef. The steers have been eating plentiful amounts of green grass (from our plentiful rains) and several important ranchers have presented us with offers too good to turn down.

First, Mac Magruder’s 8-month-old veal came in a couple of weeks ago.   Then, the huge and delicious 4-year-old steer from Jack Monroe in Covelo. And next week Moira Burke, of Agricola: flora et fauna in Dixon, CA, will send us half of a 22-month Angus. These are all grass fed and grass finished animals.

Three Angus animals: 8-mos, 22-mos., 48-mos. We are first to admit, that’s a lot of meat! But we thought we could do some pretty neat things with them. The animals will all be hanging in our meat locker, aging, and at the appropriate time, Chef Jonah will prepare them for the menu over the next month. Here’s a schedule of these extraordinary (seriously though, this is some exceptionally tasty beef) offerings and events over the next few weeks:

Friday, June 17
48-mos.
Short Ribs
We wanted to get into these without too much aging. Such a fatty cut doesn’t benefit from a lot of age and can end up tasting a bit stale.  We are salting these for twelve hours before braising them.

Friday, June 24
22-mos.
Flank Steak & Carne Crudo/Carpaccio – three animals
This will be a rare opportunity to taste the same cut/preparation of three similarly raised and fed animals from the same breed, but different in age.  This should be an interesting demonstration on what characteristics are associated with the age of an animal.

Sunday, June 26
22- and 48-mos.
Osso Bucco
Our first of two classics from Milan. With three animals, we’ve got quit a few shanks on hand. These will be cut and braised in the classic preparation.

Wednesday, June 29
22-mos.
Cotoletta
Our second dish from Milan. Tender ribeyes pounded paper-thin, breaded, then fried.

Thursday, June 30
22-mos.
New York Top Loin

Friday, July 1
48-mos.
Bollito
This is THE way to eat mature beef in Italy. All the cuts you’ve been wondering about, in one bowl.

Saturday, July 2
48-mos.
Bollito
Because a good thing deserves repeating

Thursday, July 7
22-mos.
Rib Eye
No explanation required.

Saturday, July 9
48 mos.
Prime Rib
The 48-month steer has a huge rib section. We’ll take the rack and slow roast it (12 hours) and carve prime rib in the dining room, for as long is it lasts.

We’ve got lots of other cuts, so you’ll be seeing corned beef, beef braises, meat balls, pepperoni and other cured meats. We expect you’ll do you’re part.

“Never Enough” written by Ben Provan. Performed by Ben with very new wife Grace Magruder-Provan, along with Kate and Mac Magruder, at their ranch on the banks of the Russian River headwaters in Potter Valley, CA.

Since 1969, Moira Burke and her family have raised beef cattle on their family farm, west of Dixon in Solano County.  Here, her sons grew up doing farm chores, raising animals and dining on “grass fat” beef, as it was then called.  Family and friends raved about this delicious “grass-fat” beef they served at their table.

Moira’s passion for both plants and animals inspired the business name of “Agricola: flora et fauna”.  Emphasizing sustainable production, Agricola produces specialty tree crops, grass/clover hay and high quality grass fed (and finished) beef.  Additionally, the farm facilitates wildlife habitat with native plantings and nest boxes.

With 12 years experience in beef cattle research at UC Davis, during which time she specialized in live animal evaluation and carcass quality, Moira emphasizes growing Angus steers with the qualities that produce a superior carcass at under two years of age.  Moira’s son, Barry Tanaka, who is her partner in Agricola, has an undergraduate degree in Agroecology and Biology and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering in addition to his experiential farm-based education growing up on the farm.  He is a civil engineer in San Francisco, working in environmental hydrology and ecological restoration.

Moira and Barry believe that the healthiest, most flavorful beef is that which is raised in an environmentally sustainable and humane manner along with a high quality, natural diet.  Agricola grass-fed steers feed solely on rich irrigated pastures of grasses, clovers and trefoil – grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers or herbicides. Agricola grass-fed steers are never fed antibiotics, hormones or other supplements.

Just as in prairies and meadows, Agricola pasture builds soil, sequesters carbon and recharges groundwater.  Via rotational grazing, their steers enjoy this rich, natural diet and healthy growing environment, with continually fresh grazing and freedom of movement.  Quiet, unstressed animals are relaxed, grow better and enjoy better health.  Along with daily monitoring, humane treatment is paramount in Agricola’s husbandry practices.

Truly sustainable agriculture is not only a function of production methods, but also connects with the overall environment and local community.  To that end, Agricola raises their grass fed beef responsibly and markets only within the bountiful Bay Area region.

Moira is a member of Slow Food Solano County, and serves on the Solano County Agricultural Advisory Committee.  Moira and Barry hope that you find your Agricola grass-fed beef as wholesome and fulfilling to eat as they do to raise for you.

In preparation for next week’s visit from Aldo Vacca and Chef Marco Forneris, Chef Canales has been aging some young adult beef, vitellone, from our Potter Valley rancher, Mac Magruder.   The special menu will feature the rib eyes and loins, and the chuck eye rolls will make a fine Brasato al Barbaresco.

June 25th and June 26th

Essential to the Oliveto Wine in Time project is Aldo Vacca, Director of Produttori del Barbaresco. Beginning in 1998, he has helped shape our ideas about wine, introduced us to many other fine producers, found old wine for our list, been a great host and friend, and helped us acquire hours of video tape about the region. On June 25th and 26th, Chef Canales will offer a Piedmontese menu for Produttori del Barbaresco wines. Available are twelve vintages and single vineyards including a very elegant 1979 Ovello. We’ll be serving many of these wines by the glass, half-glass and taste.

Aldo Vacca & Chef Marco Forneris

And over the years, on our annual (truffle) trips to the Piedmont, we dine at Osteria Lalibera in Alba. Osteria Lalibera and Chef Marco Forneris’ food are stylish, genuine, and delicious. Marco will be giving a master class for our kitchen staff this next week, the results of which will be reflected on the menu. We’ll report to you on the details by email before the dinners.

Also on this menu will be some very special young adult beef, vitellone, from our Potter Valley rancher, Mac Magruder. These animals have been hanging in our meat locker for several weeks and will be at their optimum point for these dinners (see video). We will feature the rib eyes and loins, and the chuck eye rolls will make a fine Brasato al Barbaresco.

Here are some of the highlights of what Marco and Paul have planned for us:

Chicche alla crema al parmigiano
Truly lovely gnocchi from Valle Maira in the north. This dish of Marco’s grandmother’s is quite different from our usual smaller, more dense gnocchi. Marco taught the dish to our kitchen staff at a class held last Saturday.

Carpaccio of Niman Ranch beef tenderloin bagna cauda
This bagna cauda is the classic Piedmontese two-day preparation, served with meat only for very special occasions.

Brasato al Barbaresco of Magruder Ranch milk- and grass-fed vitellone chuck eye
This young adult beef, vitellone, from our Potter Valley rancher, Mac Magruder, will have been marinating in Produttori del Barbaresco nebbiolo for five days. The meat has been hanging in our meat locker for several weeks and will be at its optimum.

Aldo Vacca and Chef Marco Forneris will be in the restaurant on Thursday night only, so if you’d like to say hello, or chat, please reserve for the June 25th.

call 510-547-5356

or reserve online

Just this morning Don Watson showed up with four, first of season spring lamb, about 90 days old.  We’re hanging them for a few days to help tenderize the meat & plan to have them on the menu starting Saturday night (remote possibility not until Sunday).  They’ll be on the menu through Tuesday or Wednesday.

And good news for chanterelle fans.  Last time we sent out a notice about Malcolm’s chanterelles we sold out early.  Malcolm stopped by last night with 20 pounds of absolute beauties & they will be on the menu in a conserva tonight & tomorrow.

“Cooking with foods grown by farmers you have met, in nearby places that you have driven past, will give you a sense that your world is one of interconnected parts. You will observe the vitality of the produce in the way it tastes, smells, and feels, and by how long it remains wholesome and appealing compared with produce you buy at the supermarket. Your choices will become broader than the few varieties and species chosen for you by industrial growers. You will know that your money goes directly to the people who grew your food, not to packagers, ad-writers, shipping moguls, or CEOs. Cooking with food that is vital and seasonal will provide great pleasure, akin, somehow, to having grown it yourself. You will have the added knowledge that you have encouraged the restoration of a safe and wholesome food system.”

-Maggie Blyth Klein from The State of Our Food, a treatise on the state of the food system in America, 2002.  Read the full document.