March = Morels

It’s that time of year again…

Nice Sunchokes!

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…

This Just In: Spring Lamb

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 flocks have a wide grazing range including many nearby vineyards. It’s a symbiotic relationship, with the sheep gaining additional space to roam and forage while…

Giorgio Sacchini, our favorite Tuscan woodsman, comes to visit

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…

Hearty Winter Crops & Sensational Chanterelles

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….

This Just In – Saltimbocca

Our own wild boar prosciutto has been hanging for 18 months and it is absolutely stunning. Meanwhile, Mac Magruder’s rib-eye veal has been aging in the meat locker for the past few weeks. Add a little bit of sage, and we’ve got saltimbocca (Italian: jumps in the mouth) – on the menu starting tonight and into the weekend. Also, Chef Paul Canales just got back from Chinatown where…

This Just In: Olio Nuovo is Here

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…

Backyard Quince, or Respect For Your Elders

The bright, juicy, show-stopping fruits of summer are gone. Nectarines, strawberries, and pluots- all feats of human farm science- have exhausted themselves serving us….and we are finally at late harvest season, my favorite time of year…

This Just In: Vitellone & Chanetrelles

Primarily raised on mother’s milk with some grass-feeding, the meat has been aging in our meat locker. Chef Canales has been tweaking the aging times, to find just the right balance between the delicate veal and the characteristic aged-meat flavors. Tonight we will be using the loins, and Friday we will be serving the rib eye. They will be on the menu as tagliata, served with braised Torpedo onions from Brookside Farms in Brentwood. These animals are fairly small, and there isn’t…

This Just In: Brookside Farm’s Flavor King pluots

As often as I come across a “perfect” piece of fruit, however, I rarely employ the philosophy of showcasing its perfection by serving it untouched; as Chef Paul Canales says, “the customer is not paying me to shop for them – I’m here to cook!” 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…