It’s easy to be cynical about Olivia, an angular masterpiece of smooth wood, glass, and metal that has already become an architectural landmark for the city. The space—flanked by a car dealership and a taxidermist—could hardly be any more beautiful, especially around sunset, when the changing light plays all kinds of tricks with shadows and mood. Booths and tables seem to flow organically from the kitchen, to commune with each other and with their guests, to melt into the expanse of windows, wood-and-metal lattices, and soaring ceilings.

Yet there is substance to the flash. The garden outside doesn’t just play for visual effect; whatever vegetables don’t come from local farms are harvested right here. The food and wine programs show a concern not just for using independent, artisanal producers, but also, crucially, about introducing customers to new taste experiences. For instance: lamb’s tongue fricassée with grilled pears, honey, and “mustard pan sauce” is certainly a food-geek dish, but Olivia’s down-to-earth waitstaff encourages people to dispense with their hang-ups and order it. And even timid people wind up loving the dish, because it’s tender but not slimy, profoundly flavorful but not gamey. It’s some of this kitchen’s very best work.

Several ingredients are made in-house: pastas, charcuterie, sausage—we’ve even had a crazy, runny cheese cured in a chef’s closet. With this zeal comes mostly hits, and a few misses: a foie gras risotto incorporating grilled Fredericksburg peaches has been superb, while a red wine risotto has overpowered its escargots. In the past, we’ve had watery seafood cioppino with mealy shrimp, and dry omelettes. But consistency has improved lately, along with the once-cumbersome portions that had diners feeling like they were being fattened up for their own harvest. Even challenging meats like lamb and wild duck are cooked expertly. Brunch standouts include the fried chicken of your dreams with simple, creamy potato salad, and lemon curd. Plucky sandwiches like tongue and pickled pig’s ear have come oversauced, but head-on shrimp with cheesy grits are among the best in the city.

The wine list is full of deeply respected cult wines, and the prices are criminally low. And that comes straight to the point: in a city where cuisine has been increasingly corrupted by fashion and deception, Olivia, for its occasional flaws, has exactly the right idea—about food, about wine, about architecture, design, and service. Cynics welcome.

One of the best cheese plates I've ever had. Really huge, suitable for six. Great selection of cheeses, an excellent Valdeon blue.

Kent Wang - 2008-12-22 23:47

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