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f some chefs and restaurateurs appear to be evangelical in their promotion of fine dining, it also could be observed that the owners and staff of Oliveto take a more monastic approach to their mission. Oliveto chef-owner Paul Bertolli and his partners, Bob Klein and Maggie Blyth Klein, all agree that the goal of their Oakland, Calif., restaurant and cafe is to offer "authentic" Italian-style foods and the highest-quality ingredients along with knowledgeable service and "hospitality."
In an era when many high-ticket restaurants are known for elaborate "architectural" foods and arrays of boutique wines, Oliveto has won critical and popular acclaim for its straightforward presentations and wine-list focus on lesser-known imports.
"I don't like gratuitous garnishes," declares Bertolli, who became a partner in Oliveto in 1995 and previously worked for 10 years as the chef of Alice Waters' landmark Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif.
Rather than contrive highly styled dishes for Oliveto's menu, Bertolli, winner of the 1999 James Beard Foundation Best Chef in California award, prefers to spend his time and energy on "the basics." Those pursuits include house curing prosciutto, developing balsamic and other vinegars, and producing specialty flours for pasta and other items using the restaurant's small mill.
Guests of the 135-seat Oliveto also find its menu dotted with such tasty accompaniments as scarlet runner beans, polenta or spring lettuces with vinaigrette. They also can receive a well-rounded Oliveto culinary experience by trying the nightly three-course fixed-price dinner, $39. But one of the underlying premises at Oliveto is that each item of food deserves to be presented in its best light and that none should be an afterthought or used merely as plate filler.
Maggie Klein acknowledges that it was an "uphill battle" to get some of the restaurant's patrons to accept Bertolli's ideas about presentation, which have been chided good-naturedly by some as being from the "meat on a plate" school of thought.
"It has sort of gone away," Klein says of the dismay some guests expressed about what they perceived to be a miserly adherence to an a la carte format. "At first, it was very hard, but people are expanding their horizons and learning more about authentic cooking."
Reviewers at newspapers were faster to embrace Bertolli's approach.
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