Restaurant: Oliverio [1, 2, 3, 4]
Location: 9400 W Olympic Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 407-7791
Date: January 6, 2015
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Awesome Food & Wine
Like I do, Foodie Club co-founder Erick arranges his own mega dinner for his birthday, this year at the fabulous Oliverio in the Avalon Hotel. He went all out and got the chef to “whip” up a massive 10 course tasting menu. Plus, he and I brought about 20 wines together to serve as a palette for the evening. We ended up going through 10 for 10 people.
The atmosphere at Oliverio is tres LA. They have sexy poolside dining, but this being a “wintery” evening, we at inside.
Our big table.
My friend Liz at a previous dinner with master chef Mirko Paderno. If you want to read more about his background find it in this post.
The bread service. A like the crispy things!
From my cellar: 2012 Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse. AG 88. Almondo’s 2012 Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse is brighter and more focused than the Bricco delle Ciliegie. Lemon, green pear, jasmine and crushed rocks inform a crisp white to drink over the next year or two.
Yellowfin tuna tartare with quail egg and crispy polenta chips. You could almost pretend it was beef. A little bit of a kick too.
From my cellar: 2010 Venica & Venica Malvasia. AG 88. The 2010 Malvasia is an attractive white, but I am not sure Venica has decided what road to take with their Malvasia, an aromatic grape with a strong personality. You either have to let Malvasia rip or try to reign it in, but this particular wine is made in a middle of the road style that does neither. It shows good varietal character, but lacks personality.
Vegetarian cannelloni (A). the (A) signifies an alternative substitute, in this case vegetarian.
From my cellar: 1994 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 91 points. Dark golden. Deep fragrance of honey and herbs. Very intense honey, textured. Long and delicious, slightly of wood.
Cauliflower soufflé parmigiano fondue black winter truffle. Yum! Love this dish.
Because we have a seared foie course coming I brought a serious straight up Sauternes to compliment.
From my cellar: 2001 Château Suduiraut. IWC 95. Medium yellow-gold. Flamboyantly ripe, complex nose combines pineapple, apricot, toffee, clove and vanilla. Hugely sweet and rich, with deep, powerful flavors of honey, marzipan and toffee. A major mouthful of wine, with great lingering sweetness. Today, this makes the Rieussec seem almost polite by comparison.
agavin: great wine. young, sweet, and no off notes at all.
Seared hudson valley foie gras with roasted squash and parmigiano fondue. I thought it would be funny to get Erick his candle with his foie! Good stuff, and a real slab of the fatty liver.
Squash ravioli parmigiano fondue (A).
From my cellar: 1993 Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja) Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille. IWC 95. Denser ruby-garnet than the above. More concentrated aromas of black cherry confitura, black pepper, herbs and spices, plus some very Medoc-like licorice and resin scents. Full body. Powerfully structured, with rich, minerally fruit, but less velvety today than the above. Potent and crisp on the finish. Superb for the vintage.
Homeade ricotta cheese cavatelli pasta with braised veal sugo. Some serious meaty winter pasta. I love the bitey texture on these cavatelli.
Homeade ricotta cheese cavatelli eggplant & candied tomato (A).
1995 Coche-Dury Auxey-Duresses. 91 points. A Coche-dury red? I’ve never had one, and this was a very nice mature bright berry red burg that drank like a premier cru (it’s a villages).
Black winter truffle risotto with morel mushrooms.
1990 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Hauts-Doix. 90 points. Took a few minutes to open up, but was good when it did.
John dory filet in a delicate seafood broth.
1995 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni. 93 points. Another consistent Showing. Needs about 30 mins to open up. No need to decant though. Full on red fruit nose, very open and in a way delicate though. Well aged and maybe past its peak but a beautiful wine. The only wrong is that it tails off a cliff in the end and lacks vitality. We would suggest to drink now.
Hudson valley duck leg confit. A huge portion. Rich and delicious with a great jus.
Branzino with white italian beans & tuscan cabbage (A).
From my cellar: 1990 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra. AG 95. The 1990 Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra has developed a bit since I last tasted it about two years ago. Here the fruit is decidedly richer and more opulent than the 1990, but the early signs of maturity have also set in with slightly more advanced notes of coffee beans, mint and violets. The finish is long, powerful and utterly convincing.
Kagoshima a5 wagyu beef. Heavy and rich. I couldn’t have eaten another bite.
Porcini mushroom soufflé (A).
2001 Camus Pere & Fils Charmes-Chambertin. 88 points. Garnet with a touch of bricking at the rim. The nose is soft and smoky, delicate and showing some age. Living up to its name, it’s a charming wine; subtle and soft with fresh strawberry fruit and a touch of dried meat on the finish.
Selection of fine italian cheese. Gorgonzola, parmesan, brie. I loved the gorgonzola with the honey.
Bread for the cheese.
Homemade limoncello. This was the smoothest most pleasant limoncello I’ve had. I lovely nose of lemon rind too.
Nutella chocolate mousse with raspberries. I couldn’t really taste the nutella myself.
Erick with his lovely wife Amanda
Overall, this was another knock out meal. The food was fantastic. Each dish was really fabulous and very generous with the truffles, foie and the like. Mirko Paderno is a top top Italian chef, one of the best in town (and LA has very good Italian). The wines were also wonderful, with a lot of good variety.
