Whole Hog Dinner @ Oliveto

I sure love me some pig! Last night, I had the good fortune of
attending the 10th Annual Whole Hog Dinner at Oliveto. Chef Canales and
the Oliveto kitchen successfully created masterful dishes using every
part of the hog. From the trotters, to the livers, to the blood, to the
belly, it's everything pig you can imagine! This special menu only
comes around once per year in February and is usually only 3-4 days
long. If you hurry, you might still be able to get a
resie!

Oh all the choices! Given that this is a one
time per year indulgence, I wanted to pick the best of the best on the
menu. Luckily, my good friend Dave has been in years past and was
familiar with most of the offerings. He was able to make some
recommendations as well as steer me away from some less exciting
options. Naturally, we would have started off with the antipasti selection of dry-cured salami, pates, or whole cuts but we did opt to forgo the cured meat and focus on the offal and end cuts appetizers. We started off with the fried pork trotter and brains with creamy aged sherry vinegar and herb sauce ($14.50). I can't say that I've
had trotter before but man was it delicious. When I cut it in half, I did have to push away any thoughts of what I was really eating (i.e. it looked like cartilage!). Both were hot and fried. The brains were soft and delicate. The creamy sauce was so rich and delicious, we sopped up every last drop! The next appetizer we enjoyed was the warm antipasto of pork tongue, artichokes, and aged aceto balsamico ($15). I grew up on beef tongue but have never had pork tongue before. This was probably my favorite of the night. Several other enticing options included the terrina of pickled pork ears with horseradish, celery heart, and frisee ($12.50), spiedino of pork liver and fresh pancetta with roasted beets and herbs ($14), and something that my friend Dave raved about was the blood pudding with dried fig mostarda and pine nuts ($13.50). Since I've never had blood pudding before (and still not sure what it exactly is), I was hesitant on using it as one of my selections. That, I will have to save for next year!

Trotters, check. Brains, check. Tongue, check. What would be the next offal of the night? They offered one soup, pig's head with farro soup ($10) and eight pastas that I wanted a nibble of each. I think we pondered the pasta course the longest. Did I want gnocchi with little pork meatballs ($18.50), paccheroni with wild boar spezzatino al diavolo ($18), or ravioli cerchie of savoy cabbage and prosciutto cotto with sugo di maiale and draped with lardo ($18)? Well, of
course we had to go with the offal option of pappardelle nere with pork heart and wild mushroom ragu ($19.50). To some, the heart is definitely the least appetizing option. If not cooked properly, it can be very tough. These were cut in small pieces and sauteed with a beautiful, earthy mushroom ragu. The sauce was flavorful with a rich thickness. Now to top off this pork heart sauce, why not cook the pasta with pig's blood? You'll notice in the picture the dark color of the pasta. The pigs blood made the pasta very delicate and silky. Probably one of the best pappardelles I've ever had and the most unique!

The hot specialties included less of the offal and more of the traditional cuts of pig we're accustomed to. A spit-roasted pork belly ($28), wild boar scallopine alla milanese ($29), and peasant braise of pork shoulder, sausages, and wild boar ribs ($29) were the more "normal" of the bunch while there was a grilled wild boar with currants, and wild fennel sausage ($24) that you don't normally see on menus. I wanted the all pig feast done 3 ways, spit-roasted "pastrami", pork belly rib, and saucisse d'ail (sausage) with choucroute garni (sauerkraut). Wow, catch me on any day and I'd definitely chow on a good bratwurst with sauerkraut and LOTS of mustard. With a special request from the kitchen for some mustard, we were happy campers. The presentation was huge! More than enough to share and by the end of the meal, I had definitely filled up. I ended up taking a good part of our pig platter home. It was absolutely delicious!

Dessert seemed less attractive although they did manage to still incorporate the pig. A warm apple crisp strudel sounded normal enough but was topped with a sweet bacon confetti ($9.50). But how about that bacon ice cream?! I just couldn't imagine eating that. Dave said it just tasted like fat. Hmm…sounds tasty. Ok, maybe not…..

I had a fantastic experience at Oliveto and was so impressed by the chef and kitchen staff on putting together this elaborate meal. The creativeness, flavors, and usage of the pig was mind blowing. I'm so glad I booked a table early and cannot wait for next year. Oliveto offers several "themed" dinners during the year including a celebration of tomatoes in August and truffles in November. The Oceanic Dinner in June celebrates all things seafood. I missed out on this last year simply because I didn't book a reservation in time. Lesson learned! We've already got a reservation confirmed! I cannot wait to see the beautiful seafood that Tom Worthington of Monterey Fish provides for this amazing menu. 

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