Oceanic Dinners – OLIVETO RESTAURANT AND CAFE

The EBX Reviews Our Downstairs Rosticceria

Photo by Andria Lo for the East Bay Express

We were pleased when we read Luke Tsai’s review of our downstairs rosticceria in the East Bay Express that came out just last week. We felt it was a straightshooting, honest appraisal of our rosticceria‘s success and its challenges.

Everything he loved, we love too. According to him, we have “what might be the best, ooziest, and most satisfyingly meaty lasagne alla bolognese in town.” The Community Grains whole grain toast and Red Flint corn polenta, our Tuscan sausages and pork shoulder — all of these were complimented, and we hope this means more people will come in and try them! In the future, look for a revamped online ordering system for takeout, and of course, a roast Hoffman Farm chicken to knock your socks off.

Come on in for dinner and a summer cocktail! We’re looking forward to seeing you.

Have a look at the rosticceria menu.

June 30th, 2016|Coming up..., Oliveto Cafe, Press|0 Comments

It’s going to be epic — just look at Jonah’s amazing menu.

Oceanic Dinners
June 21-24, 2016
reserve online or call (510) 547-5356

Now this is something special. Chef Jonah displays his magical touch yet again with this over-the-top menu featuring over 30 species of fish, all sustainable caught, with its method of catch listed. Some of these dishes do include meat — when else might you find pigeon be paired with a lobster Bordelaise? It’s a dramatic and gorgeous feast, one we’re grateful to offer you.Menu

Antipasti: smaller items, soup, salads
Cold
House-cured and smoked local swordfish with Sicilian pine nuts, sultana raisins
and oregano
Kombu-cured king salmon with compressed Elephant Heart pluot; crispy skin
Crudo of tigerfish with cured tuna heart, Oro Blanco grapefruit, and avocado
Ciappa with Ft. Bragg sea urchin, house-cured lardo, and artichoke
Crudo of live East Coast scallop with coral salsa, Serpentine cucumber, and pickled
hot chilis
Antipasto of marinated local anchovies, cherry tomatoes, and roasted peppers with
olive oil
Salad of Little Gem lettuces with bagna cauda, fresh anchovy, and breadcrumbs
“Coppa di mare” with fennel salad
Soup: chilled vellutata of Dungeness crab, coconut milk, and lemon verbena with
trout roe, Serrano chili, and anise hyssop
Garden lettuces vinaigrette

Warm
Fritto of softshell crab with Brentwood corn sformatino and romesco sauce
Pain de mie-crusted sand dab with scallop mousseline and zucchini crema
Brasato of octopus and tripe with Gigande beans, tomato, and Pecorino cheese

Primi
Rigatoni with swordfish polpettini, smoked cream, and mint
Spaghetti neri with Georgia white shrimp, tomato, and Calabrian chili
Acquerello Carnaroli risotto of sea urchin, fresh coriander, and lime
Saffron chitarra with Dungeness crab, Meyer lemon, and tarragon crema
Tortelloni of Maine lobster with mascarpone
Strozzapreti with ragù of Monterey Bay squid, Nebbiola, and ricotta salata
Potato gnocchi with salt cod, roast sweet peppers, tomato, and Sicilian fennel
Tagliatelle with razor clams, Ceci beans, garlic, and hot pepper

Secondi
Charcoal-grilled pigeon with braised Romano beans, Walla Walla onion, and lobster
Bordelaise
Charcoal-grilled sausage of lobster and chicken with peperonata, fingerling potatoes,
and salsa verde
Fines herbes-crusted king salmon with roast garlic crema, asparagus, and preserved
lemon
Cioppino of chili pepper rock cod, Prince Edward Island mussels, Manila clams, and
shrimp with grilled crostino and saffron aioli
Oil-poached white sea bass with early summer ratatouille, cherry tomatoes, and squash
blossom spumante
Roast Bolinas black cod with house-made morcilla, saffron-scented fregola, and
salmoriglio
Farroto AQ

Contorno: TBD

Dolci TBD

June 15th, 2016|Coming up..., Events, Monterey Fish Company|0 Comments

June 21-24, 2016

On Tuesday, Monterey Fish Market’s Tom Worthington met with chef Jonah to discuss what’s available for this year’s Oceanic Dinners. It’s an annual parlay that allows Jonah to spring to work on a massive menu, with 30-40 dishes of sustainably caught fish, listed with the method of catch.This year, the ever-changing sea has decided to be generous. Crab, squid, halibut, swordfish, and anchovy are all available. King salmon season is open all along the California coast, which means we’ll have our choice in that realm. As we do each year, we’ll look to other parts of the world for other delights.

A personal favorite, black cod, is in on the way too. It’s a gorgeous fish, marvelously fat and rich, caught by master craft fisherman Josh Churchman, who takes his boat out 25 miles to the edge of our continental shelf near Bolinas, where, using the method of vertical hook and line, he skillfully, patiently, holds his position, sinking a weighted line down into the deeps to tempt his quarry.

With all of this local abundance, Jonah is envisioning a simple, direct approach that communicates the fish’s true flavors. There will be a significant crudo section.

Amongst our regular customers, there’s always debate as to which of our special dinners is the best, and this one ranks particularly high. Fish-lovers, you will want to plan ahead for this one. Reservations will go fast.

Oceanic Dinners
June 21-24
Call 510-547-5356 or reserve online.

June 10th, 2016|Coming up..., Events, Monterey Fish Company|0 Comments

live-scallop-oceanic-with-dashi-seaweed-web-size

Our yearly, over-the-top dinner series is coming! Featuring the sustainably caught, the finely finned, the gorgeously gilled, and the beautifully bivalvular, this is a menu not to be missed.

Call 510-547-5356 or reserve online.

June 2nd, 2016|Coming up..., Events, Monterey Fish Company|0 Comments

Reveling in Oceanic Splendor

We continue to savor our recollections from last night, our first night of Oceanic Dinners, with its myriad perfumes of the sea. The menu rocks, sparkling with many delicacies. We particularly liked this cioppino, laden with rock cod, mussels, and cuttlefish, and lovingly and generously splashed with saffron aioli.

Other notes: the geoduck we have in for our frutti di mare is some of the best chef Jonah’s ever seen. This is served cold with Kushi oyster, monkfish torchon, house-smoked trout, cuttlefish, and Spanish mackerel. Accompanying are three sauces: a mignonette, a salsa rosa (a tomato-based cocktail sauce), and sea urchin aioli.

Also, our Oceanic Dinner dates have changed. This menu extends to Saturday! We hope to see you here soon.

June 24th, 2015|Coming up..., This Just In|0 Comments

14th Annual Oceanic Dinner Final Menu

We still have some good times to dine with us, particularly on Thursday night.

Reserve Now.

Antipasti: smaller items, soup, salads

Cold

Panna cotta of Santa Barbara sea urchin with house-cured vanilla-scented trout roe and olive oil

Crudo of American mackerel with harissa, marinated cherry tomatoes, basil and Moroccan olives

Salad of Bibb lettuce with smoked swordfish bagna cauda, Sausalito Springs watercress, Easter Egg radish, fried shallots, and lemon

Frutti di mare of geoduck, Kushi oyster, monkfish torchon, house-smoked trout, cuttlefish, and Spanish mackerel; salsa rosa, sea urchin aïoli, and mignonette

Garden lettuces vinaigrette

Warm

Charcoal-grilled live scallop with scallop roe, dachi, dried scallop, Pioppini mushrooms, and seaweed

Charcoal-grilled mackerel with fregola, chili, and lemon agrumato

Potato-wrapped spot shrimp with saffron aïoli and peperonata

Pan-roasted pain de mie-crusted sand dab

Charcoal-grilled terrina of octopus with pimento aïoli, new potatoes, and wild arugula

Fritto misto of scallop, shrimp, and monkfish with Meyer lemons, aïoli, and fines herbes

Soup: vellutata of lobster and Dungeness crab with vanilla-orange crema

Primi

Acquerello Carnaroli risotto of Santa Barbara sea urchin, preserved Meyer lemon, and Espelette peppers

Tajarin with Dungeness crab, tarragon, and crab crema

Ravioli of baccalà with preserved lemon and mint

Spaghetti neri with Georgia white shrimp, tomato, and hot pepper

Fusilli bucata corti with East Coast razor clams, Brentwood corn, squash blossoms, and lemon verbena

Agnolotti dal plin

Tortelloni of house-made ricotta and Parmesan cheeses with basil pesto

Secondi

Pan-roasted skate wing with roasted fennel, capers, and brown butter

‘Osso buco’ of monkfish with saffron risotto, tomato brodo, and gremolata

Pan-roasted local king salmon with early summer ratatouille and basil oil

Pan-roasted sea bass with eggplant crema, padron peppers, Brentwood corn, and heirloom tomato salsa

Cioppino of local rock cod, shrimp, mussels, and cuttlefish with saffron aïoli, crostino, and parsley

Charcoal grilled pigeon with farroto AQ

Dolci

Yakira’s special Floating Island

Semolina shortcake with blackberries, mascarpone mousse, and lime sorbetto

Strawberry semifreddo with pistachio-almond cake, candied pistachios, strawberries, and old aceto balsamico

Cheesecake on crisp rye cake with chamomile caramel, apricot sauce, grilled apricots, and torched apricot meringue

It is an extraordinary challenge to offer such a menu, with this many species of fish, at their peak – which speaks to the skill and knowledge of Tom Worthington of Monterey Fish. To learn more, we’d like to share a film we made some years ago, of Tom Worthington at Monterey’s warehouse on Pier 33.

June 22nd, 2015|2015, Coming up..., Events|0 Comments

Oceanic Dinners: Full Speed Ahead

It’s a wild sea out there right now — winds are coming up, everything is churning —and we’re in full prep mode for next week’s Oceanic Dinners. We’re smoking, drying, pickling, chilling – the kitchen is working like mad.

It’s a stellar menu. Here are some of the dishes that Chef Jonah is particularly high on:

Charcoal-grilled live scallop with scallop roe, dachi, dried scallop, Pioppini mushrooms, and seaweed. We’re getting in some live scallops in their shells. They’ll be scored on the grill, put back in their shell and poached over coals in adachi broth. We’re drying scallops now, which will be shaved over the dish.
Panna cotta of Japanese sea urchin (Santa Barbara may not be available) with house-cured vanilla-scented trout roe and olive oil. Per Jonah, “this will be a really sexy dish.”
Spot shrimp are coming in. We’ll wrap the tails in potato strings and fry them with the heads on (undesirable brain and cardiac stomach removed).
And an osso buco, but with monkfish.

Here’s the whole menu.

Oceanic Dinners, June 23rd-26th

Reserve Now

June 19th, 2015|Coming up...|0 Comments

14th Annual Oceanic Dinner Preliminary Menu

Antipasti: smaller items, soup, salads

Cold

Panna cotta of Santa Barbara sea urchin with house-cured vanilla-scented trout roe and olive oil

Crudo of bonito

Salad of Bibb lettuce with smoked swordfish bagna cauda, Sausalito Springs watercress, Easter Egg radish, fried shallots, and lemon

Frutti di mare of geoduck, Kushi oyster, house-smoked trout, cuttlefish, and mackerel; salsa rosa, sea urchin aïoli, and mignonette

Garden lettuces vinaigrette

Warm

Charcoal-grilled live scallop with scallop roe, dachi, dried scallop, Pioppini mushrooms, and seaweed

Charcoal-grilled mackerel (or other bluefish) with fregola, chili, and lemon agrumato

Potato-wrapped spot shrimp

Pan-roasted pain de mie-crusted sand dab

Charcoal-grilled terrina of octopus with pimento aïoli, new potatoes, and wild arugula

Fritto misto of scallop, shrimp, and other seafood (tbd)

Soup: vellutata of lobster and Dungeness crab with vanilla-orange crema

Primi

Acquerello Carnaroli risotto of Santa Barbara sea urchin, preserved Meyer lemon, and Espelette peppers

Tajarin with Dungeness crab, tarragon, and crab crema

Ravioli of bacalà with preserved lemon and mint

Spaghetti neri with Georgia white shrimp, tomato, and hot pepper

Fusilli bucata corti with East Coast razor clams

Agnolotti dal plin

Tortelloni of house-made ricotta and Parmesan cheeses with basil pesto

Secondi

Pan-roasted skate wing with roasted fennel, capers, and brown butter

‘Osso buco’ of monkfish with saffron risotto, tomato brodo, and gremolata

Pan-roasted local king salmon with early summer succotash

Pan-roasted black sea bass

Cioppino of local rock cod, shrimp, mussels, and cuttlefish with saffron aïoli, crostino, and parsley

Farroto AQ

Dolci

Yakira’s special Floating Island

Semolina shortcake with blackberries, mascarpone mousse, and lime sorbetto

Strawberry semifreddo with pistachio-almond cake, candied pistachios, strawberries, and old aceto balsamico

Cheesecake on crisp rye cake with chamomile caramel, apricot sauce, grilled apricots, and torched apricot meringue

June 15th, 2015|Coming up...|0 Comments

Oceanic Dinners Update: Two Weeks and Counting

It is two weeks to our Oceanic Dinners, and so we look to the sea to find our menu. A few days ago, we met with Tom Worthington of Monterey Fish Market to find out what we might expect from its capricious, briny depths.

He told us that the Pacific has been warmer than usual, and the winds, which “scrub” the ocean’s surface and cause an upwelling of the plankton that supports our local fisheries, have come late. Alas, no squid, and the sardine fishery has closed for the year. Both of these are usually available by now.

That said, there’s plenty of other beautiful creatures to share. Locally, the sand dabs are excellent right now, as are the Petrale sole, salmon, and white sea bass. Jonah and Tom are now casting their eyes further out, to distant waters. We’ve got tuna on our minds, bonito, albacore, and blue fin, some of which we may smoke. According to Tom, there are these “weird clams” from the East Coast. From Alaska, halibut. Such riches.

Now we know more, and Jonah’s thinking about what he’d like to serve.

Our 14th Annual Oceanic Dinners take place June 16th-19th. (Note: due to the Warrior’s Championship series we’re moving the Oceanic Dinners back one week, now they will occur Tuesday June 23rd through Friday June 26th.)

Call (510) 547-5356 or reserve online.