Oh Live For Olivar!

If you like the fabulously fused taste of French and Spanish cuisine (and, as any good hedonist-in-training will tell you, you certainly should) then you simply MUST give mural-filled Olivar up in Capitol Hill a try.

Olivar – the Spanish word for an olive grove – opened its doors on July 22, 2008 at the hands of Chef Philippe Thomelin. Born of France’s Loire Valley region (where he studied at the Curnonsky Culinary School) and heavily influenced by the rustic culinary delights of his Catalan grandmother, Philippe has worked in France, Spain, England, and the United States. He arrived in Seattle in 2002 as Executive Sous-Check at Il Terrazzo Carmine (review STILL forthcoming), then four years later headed over to the now-gone Cascadia Restaurant as Sous-Chef under then Chef Kerry Sear (now exec chef at the Four Seasons Seattle) while starting up his own private catering company, Olive Tree Catering, and assisting at such establishments as Voilà Bistrot and Madison Mark Cafe.

His work is, in short, pure genius … and their sommelier, the young Brandon Marsh, seems to keep up with Philippe just fine with a grand collection of French, Spanish, and regional wines. Tasting/pairing notes from a private media dinner below  – just keep in mind that Philippe is always trolling the local farmers markets for the latest and greatest organic fare in order to mix things up, as well as tweaking his menu seasonally:

Amuse bouche: Rabbit tourrine on a crostini, topped with quince jelly and served with a cherry gelée – the wild pink meat went well with these tart fruit flavors, creating a luscious earthy, sour quality that glided gloriously into the gullet with a sip-sized swallow of Vilarnau Cava Brut (Penedes, Pain, NV). Pure bliss.

From the Small Plates Menu: Philippe’s sea scallops – in this case, served with a roasted cauliflower, pine nuts, currants & Fresno chili oil purée – was pure heaven, particularly when paired with the late spring fruit ‘n’ floral, sour-sweet notes of a mouth-cleaning glass of Cave de Tain (Rhone, France, 2007). Another dish worth mention is his grilled squid that comes complete with housemade harissa, a crispy vegetable galette and a pickled carrot that pairs divinely with Telmo Rodriguez, Basa (Rueda, Spain, 2007). And finally, his pimiento relleno a lo pobre – Spanish for Anaheim pepper stuffed with braised pork, potato, and fried egg – is a breakfast pocket like no other (think breakfast in bed on a wet day here).

From the Large Plates Menu: Philippe’s pasta is nothing to sneeze at; it seems Italy also gets a nod at Olivar. A fav is his pasta rotolo with cod and scallop mousse – yes, mousse – along with prawns and esplette pepper beurre blanc. This dish has echos of a white chocolate finish, of all things that is further stimulated with a pairing of  a berry-licious a Casa de Illana, Tradición (Ribera del Jucar, Spain, 2006) – 40% Bobal, 30% Tempranillo, and 25% Syrah.

Dessert: There’s always room for dessert, right? At Olivar, you’d better make room for it: a personal fav is Philippe’ s Chocolate & Almonds Pithivier - a toe-curling puff pastry pie filled with liquid chocolate, topped with strawberry ice cream and served on a bed of chocolate “dirt.” So good it makes you want to wrestle in chocolate pudding (with or without a desirable partner). Pair it with a sweet wine like a Boradbent 5 yr. Reserve (Madeira, Portugal, NV) and the magic is complete.

As if the culinary art isn’t enough, there’s also the murals. Dating around the 1930’s, these murals – created by V. Shkurkin (1900-1990), who was once a part of the Moscow Arts Theater – illustrate a Russian fairy tale penned by Alexander Pushkin in 1831 – in which the son of a Tsar becomes separated from his father at the hands of his jealous aunts, who then goes on wonderful, mystical adventures, finds love, and then reunites with his father. (And yes, the family lives happily ever after.)

Olivar is open seven days a week; in addition to the usual nightly à la carte 25 menu made up of tapas-style plates ($12-$17), entrees ($18-$19), and desserts ($8), they also offer a brunch on Sundays that offers both prix fixe ($18) as well as à la carte ($9-$13), as well as their monthly $25 3-course prix fixe menu from Monday-Sunday (an ab fab deal).

And, if for nothing else … oh, live for Olivar, dear hedonists!

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.