Oliveto's 12th Annual Oceanic Dinners

Oliveto’s 12th Annual Oceanic Dinners
Tuesday, July 9, to Friday, July 12, 2013

How do you make a special dinner … special?

Highlights of this year’s event will include a traditional raw bar and a bella vista in the dining room where guests may view and select whole fish to order, then specify their preferred method of preparation.

Our special dinners always begin with the source of the food we’re featuring. For the Oceanic Dinners, we’ve always depended on Tom Worthington of Monterey Fish Market: nonpareil fishmonger and ichthyologist, oceanographer, sustainable fisheries and catchment expert, and connection to hundreds of the world’s best fisherpersons. Through Tom, Chef Jonah Rhodehamel has access to the best, freshest, most interesting sustainably caught fish and shellfish there is around which to create his menu.

Having been at Oliveto for over two years now, and with the assistance of his well-evolved cooking staff, Chef Jonah has decided to take a more innovative path this year and create some exciting new dishes, basing each on the fish, rather than the other way around. (I.e., taking the flavor and texture profile of, say, a local sand dab, and deciding which cooking methods and set will best show its character instead of starting with a new barley bigoli, for example, an thinking about which fish would go well with it.) An example of that approach is a Chilled Caviar Consommé which will be on the menu. Further highlights will be coming to you in a few days, followed by the full menu when Jonah has his final availability list from Tom.

That menu will provide guests with an array of extraordinary seafood dishes in à la carte fashion, with cooked and raw appetizer options, pastas, a broad selection of courses from the grill, and seasonal dessert surprises from Oliveto’s imaginative Pastry Chef Kam Golightly. A list of exceptional wines will be offered for a perfect pairing with each dish.

call 510-547-5356 or reserve online