Trattoria Uliveto

Rural charm, gourmet Italian, wood fired pizzas and a micro brewery next door. Pinch me!

Trattoria Uliveto in Old Town Orcutt, a setting a like no other and combined with it’s ambience, cultured cuisine and friendly staff it’s destined to be your next destination spot for lunch or dinner. It is for me, anyway.

I’ve had Uliveto on my list of must stops for nearly four months,having heard nearly every foodie and wine person I know spoon heaps of praise on this little trattoria in the movie-set-charming town of Orcutt.

You would feel equally at home sauntering up on your pinto pony of gliding in aboard your Prius.

We started off with their Parmigiana di Melanzana; baked egglplant, tomato sauce and mozzarella. If I didn’t know Id be getting plenty o’carbs from the pasta dish I was eyeing I would of ordered their appy, Rollino Veneto; rolled pizza with braised radicchio, onion, smoked mozzarella. Served with tomato, basil and garlic.

The pizzas coming out of their wood fired pizza oven were mighty tempting but I had my heart set on the Linguini Mare Monte pasta made with garlic, olive oil, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, tomato filet and white wine. Speaking of which, the Kenneth Volk Chardonnay from Uliveto’s great wine list was the perfect pal di vino for this dish.

The entrée hit every note my palate had anticipated and more. I was thrilled with the dish. We then split a chocolate flourless cake with espresso sauce. It certainly wasn’t calorieless or caffeineless. Perfect combo of sweet tooth appeaser and mild to jolt to help me out of the chair and back to our travels.

If not for the wine and chocolate I would have made my next stop Orcutt Brewery right next store.

Gourmet relaxation in picturesque, pastoral surroundings and right down the road for most lucky residents of the Central Coast. The rest of y’all will just have to salivate while planning your next wine country vacation.

Trattoria Uliveto
285 S. Broadway St.
Orcutt, CA 93455
805.934.4546
http://www.trattoriauliveto.com

Contributed by Cliff Stepp, Marketing Manager for the Central Coast Urgent Care Medical Group. He can be reached at cstepp@ccurgent.com.

Solomon Hills 2009 Harvest

2009 harvest at Solomon Hills has been nothing short of interesting. The season started in late August with extremely high temperatures, which was very reminiscent of the September weather in 2004. Luckily this came earlier than it did in 2004, and we escaped with only some slight sunburn. We were blessed for most of September and October, with a moderate climate minus the unusual amount of rainfall. The 2009 harvest started for us on 8-31-09 with chardonnay for a sparkling program and ended 10-22-09 with a small amount of syrah. The syrah was the only grape variety to weather the rain and did very well, all things considered. Over all the 2009 vintage should be an excellent quality year, with small yields in the chardonnay and small/normal (2-3.5 tons/acre) yields in the pinot noir. The fruit was harvested extremely clean and had a long hang time, thanks to the moderate temperatures of September and October. I would expect to see great things emerge from the 2009 vintage over the next several years.

Greg Phelan, Manager of Solmon Hills Vineyard in Orcutt, CA

Photo by John Gellentien

Chef Rick’s Prime Orcutt

We so often have the pleasure of tasting Chef Rick’s marvelous morsels at events that he caters but seldom make it to his cozy bistro in Orcutt (just outside of Santa Maria, CA). Any foodie with a half palate in this area is most likely to be an avid (sometimes rabid) fan of one of our area’s all time favorite Chef’s with flair.

Besides wonderful food, Rick is an amazingly charming and witty guy. It must be that same Southern charm that infuses his cuisine, as well. On this recent field trip to the shopping center Chef Rick calls home, we tried his Vegetarian Hero Sandwich and Ed’s Blackened Shrimp Quesadilla.

I had to reign myself in to prevent spontaneous inhalation of the Quesadilla. I declare! Veggie Hero was mighty fresh, aromatic and satisfying. His special slaw was a delight.

Great wine list, too. We went with the Wild Horse Chardonnay and it was perfect for this meal.

As you can see, the interior of Chef Rick’s is as colorful as the man himself!

Contributed by Cliff Stepp, Marketing Manager for the Central Coast Urgent Care Medical Group. He can be reached at cstepp@ccurgent.com.