January 19th, 2012 by Catherine Meng
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On January 10, we hosted a wheat tasting in the Oliveto dining room. Our plan wast to begin establishing some basic vocabulary for how to talk about the flavor components of wheat and flour as well as discern how those components vary between different varieties. In attendance were some of the most highly-tuned palates we know…
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December 20th, 2011 by Catherine Meng
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Vocal Rush, from the Oakland School for the Arts stopped by the Oliveto kitchen last night. They are raising money to get to the International High School A Cappella Championship competition in Portland, later in January. Find them at facebook.com/osa-vocal-rush
Add to that the fact that we are roasting chestnuts & serving…
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December 13th, 2011 by Bob Klein
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Just five months after Chef Jonah began creating his kitchen and a menu that reflected his vision at Oliveto, Michael Bauer wrote a review in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled “Oliveto: Oakland Restaurant Bounces Back.” It was the first of a number of laudatory articles. Jonah’s most recent review, a feature article by Stephen Buel in the latest…
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November 30th, 2011 by Catherine Meng
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Chef Jonah wasted no time concocting a menu item that exemplifies everything that is fleeting (as in, we sold out with a quickness last night) & wonderful about crab season:…
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November 25th, 2011 by Bob Klein
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starting this week, we’ve got some delicious sheep on the menu from Mac Magruder. Mac got his stock from “as old guy across the valley. He didn’t do anything for them, they’re organic by neglect.” He lucked out though, because they turn out to be of a hardy Suffolk cross-breed.
This is the same sheep Patricia Unterman described as “particularly succulent…
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November 4th, 2011 by Catherine Meng
from left to right: chanterelle, porcini, black hedgehog, hedgehog
Those unusual black hedgehogs will be in an appetizer that screams late autumn:
Pan-roasted pigeon with Acorn squash purée and black hedgehog mushrooms
October 24th, 2011 by Catherine Meng
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It’s hard to imagine mushrooms after this past weekend’s hot spell, but apparently the rainfall from a few weeks ago started things growing. Over the weekend we received some stellar Chanterelles from the Humboldt and just this morning some exceptional Porcini from Mendocino….
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October 13th, 2011 by Catherine Meng
When we first got involved with locally grown grains over four years ago, one of our long term goals was the pursuit of identity preserved wheat. By this we mean a particular variety grown by a farmer we know and trust, and milled into flour without being blended with other varieties or wheats from other [...]
October 10th, 2011 by Catherine Meng
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Fourteen family farms and 70 restaurants, including Oliveto, have committed to participation in No Goat Left Behind, a new program developed by Heritage Foods USA (HFUSA), a meat distribution company dedicated to preserving endangered breeds. Chef Jonah will be spit-roasting two young goats, a traditional preparation commonly seen throughout Italy around this time of year. They will be…
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September 27th, 2011 by Catherine Meng
Some real beauties arrived from Martin this week. Fresh picked Borlotti, Cannellini, and some of the biggest Gigante we’ve ever seen.
Chef Jonah’s been doing a lovely salad that will be on the menu throughout the week:
Marinated pole and bush beans with Lipstick peppers, watercress, and sherry vinaigrette