March, 2014 – Local & Luscious: Oli’s Fashion Cuisine

Oli’s Fashion Cuisine has its roots in Wellington. Even the name of the restaurant hails from Wellington’s founder, Charles Oliver Wellington. Oli’s mission is to source local, fresh products to create its delectable and visually stunning dishes. Now with a satellite restaurant on Clematis, Oli’s edible art is easy to experience, no matter where you live in the county.

 
My dining companion and I visited the new sister-restaurant on Clematis. The décor is sleek and modern with a hint of whimsy in the use of reclaimed planks of wood displayed like art along the stone walls. Glittering chandeliers hang above the tables decked out in crisp white linen. Everything is art at Oli’s, especially the food.
 
For a starter we chose the wild mushroom flatbread ($10). The grilled bread was piled high with a hearty variety of wild mushrooms—crimini, oyster, and shitake—paired with rich dollops of creamy farm-fresh ricotta and just a hint of truffle. A crisp white chardonnay will pair nicely with this beginner.

For our entrées we chose the pan roasted salmon ($22) and the Buffalo Ricotta Ravioli ($21). The salmon was seared to perfection, giving the outer exterior an incredibly crisp crust housing a rich buttery interior. The mix of spinach, edamame, and mushrooms in the light lemon sauce that accompanies the salmon is a marvel of textures and flavors. I could not help but eat every last morsel of this winning combination. A perfect pairing and a flawless dish.

The buffalo ricotta ravioli comes dressed in a lemon butter sauce with wonderfully salty bits of prosciutto. Fresh pasta encases the ultra-rich buffalo ricotta. A magical partnership. This dish is the true essence of what pasta should be; handmade, unadorned, not heavy handed on the sauce.

For dessert (for how could we pass up dessert when all else had been so spectacular?) we chose the infamous banana bread pudding. The bread pudding did not fail and the portion was grand enough for two. Warm, heady with brandy and cream, the finale of our meal left us stunned into pleasurable silence.

I look forward to my next meal at Oli’s. I plan to try the “Chef’s Menu” a prefix four course menu offered daily between 4:40pm and 6:30pm for $29.00 per person. A very good deal for such high quality and locally sourced dishes. Weather Wellington or West Palm, I highly recommend Oli’s for your next special meal.