It’s hard to toot your own horn & pat yourself on the back at the same time but here goes…

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…

This Just In: Dungeness Crab Season (FINALLY!) Begins

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:…

This Just In – Magruder Sheep

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…

Local Mushroom Boom Continues

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

First Fall Mushrooms

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….

Tastes Like California Wheat

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 [...]

Spit-Roasted Goat – This Friday, October 14th

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…

Bean Season

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

BEEF ALERT: Strip Loin

For this Sunday, September 11th we’ll be offering a beautiful Strip Loin steak, one of the most tender cuts of beef. At this point, Chef Jonah is undecided on whether he’ll be preparing smaller individual cuts or a larger cut for two. If you are planning on coming in…

BEEF ALERT: Brisket

THIS SUNDAY

We continue to work through last week’s delivery from Mac Magruder and Sparky Bauer. We’ll have carne cruda on the menu starting tonight and through the weekend.  And on Sunday, for one night only, we’ll have brisket. This will be an off-the-menu special so if you are interested you’ll want to say, “the bear [...]