Fig & Olive: Unique But Conservative Mediterranean Flavors
I went to Fig & Olive back in November 2014 because I've been curious about the restaurant for quite a while. Their cuisine is a mix between Mediterranean, French, and Italian. Looking at their menu, you'll notice that the food seems very light and refreshing. And, based on what I ordered, I would recommend coming here for something light like a few appetizers or a salad.
Fig & Olive has close to 90349230 (not an accurate figure) bottles of olive oil. Therefore, it is only fitting that they serve you a complimentary plate of toasted bread with three kinds of olive oil, some being very herbaceous and some being more subtle. I liked the lighter tasting ones.
For our appetizers, I ordered three crostinis. Crostinis are tiny Italian appetizers that consist of a slice of toast with any combination of toppings. First, I tried the crostini with shrimp, avocado, cilantro, and tomato. It was okay. Next, I tried the mushroom, artichoke, truffle, scallion, and parmesan crostini. This was better but not very compelling. Lastly, I had the crab, heirloom tomato, avocado, and apple aioli. This... THIS was much better. The crostini was bright and refreshing. The crab was awesome because it was sweet from the apple aioli.
For my entree, I ordered the Rosemary Lamb. The lamb was grilled on rosemary skewers. Yes. Rosemary skewers. Why would anyone go through the trouble to poke holes with a flimsy rosemary sprig when they can just use a regular metal or bamboo skewer? Because rosemary skewers will give the lamb a wood-like savory flavor as the lamb cooks.
The lamb also came with bell peppers, greek yogurt, honey, couscous, red onion, scallion, tomato, and koroneiki olive oil, which is an extremely robust and peppery olive oil. I don't know anything about this type of olive or any other olive. So, here is a few quick facts about the olive from the California Olive Oil Ranch: "The Koroneiki olive hails from Greece, where it's grown to produce oil. The tree has grown there for more than 3,000 years... The Koroneiki olive itself is very small. That small olive, however, delivers a healthy punch. The Koroneiki olive has a very high level of polyphenols, the chemical substances found in plants that may reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer". This olive will help you o-LIVE longer! HA. ha. ha.........