Where does your Olive Oil come from? Well, on July 6th at Cafe Levain, our Olive Oil came directly from California. Chef Adam Vickerman and the California Olive Ranch partnered to prepare a fantastic meal that highlighted the skillful talent of Adam and the fresh, refined taste of olive oil from California Olive Ranch.
Minnesota Food Blogger events are always over the top but I think this was one of my favorites so far. The location was beautiful, it was great seeing people I already knew and also great to get to know new fellow bloggers. It didn't hurt that the food was simply perfect. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
To truly appreciate the quality of this Olive Oil, it's imperative that you know how to properly taste and sample the oils. Luckily Mike from California Olive Ranch was prepared to teach us how:
We were then presented with the following 5 course dinner:
Split Pea and Kohlrabi Soup
Farmer's Market Salad
Local mixed lettuces, Buttermilk-Tarragon Vinaigrette, Garden Herbs
and Vegetables, Donnay Chevre, Brioche, Candied Nuts. Millers Blend EVOO
Sitka Sound Red King Salmon
Poached Laughing Bird Shrimp, Marinated White Beans,
Sugar Snap Peas, Chili Oil. Arbequina EVOO.
Charred Beef Hangar Steak
Fingerling Potato Confit, Local Mushrooms, Balsamic,
Preserved Lemon. Arbosana EVOO
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cake
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting - Cake, Panna Cotta, Gelato, Gel,
Tuille. Millers Blend, Arbequina and Arbosana EVOO.
Beautiful dinner, great group of people and we even got to take home a bottle of olive oil. I can't wait to try it out. Thanks to all for organizing. And yes, there was even plate licking.
Matt, you captured some beautiful moments of the evening. I love your shot of the restaurant at night and Adam in the kitchen. Great review!
ReplyDeleteFabulous review of a fabulous evening. Great work Matt.
ReplyDeleteAwesome shots - and I love that you included that one of Kate at the end. I think that might be requisite now for every event!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Matt! Love the photos too :). Looking forward to seeing you at future events!
ReplyDeleteYipes. It's a requirement! But does it always have to be from me?!
ReplyDeleteWell. Ok. I guess I can handle it.
What a night though. Everything about it was stellar, from the food to the wine and the company. Really, it was the best so far, but maybe they'll just keep getting better as this community tightens and solidifies. From the Twitter stream the next day, it was clear it took a lot out of everyone, but in a really good way. Ah, the good life of a MN food blogger.
Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteYour first post just appeared on Urbanspoon! Check it out:
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/29/330518/restaurant/Twin-Cities/South-Minneapolis/Cafe-Levain-Minneapolis
I encourage you to claim your blog, which allows you to add a picture and change some settings. The blog photo shows up next to your posts wherever they appear on Urbanspoon. Here's how to claim:
- Make sure you're logged into Urbanspoon
- Go to your blog page on our site: http://www.urbanspoon.com/br/29/5889/Twin-Cities/Thyme-in-Our-Kitchen.html
- Click "Claim your blog" in the left sidebar
After you submit it, we may contact you to verify your claim. Check your spam email folder if your claim hasn't gone through in a day or two. You'll also find some interesting badges and widgets on your Urbanspoon blog page - look in the right sidebar.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Ken
www.urbanspoon.com