Convivium Osteria

Last week, I went to Convivium Osteria [NYTimes, NYMag, CitySearch]. It is one of those neighborhood places that is easily missed, mostly because there's a huge ginormous tree right in front of the restaurant and they utilize dim atmosphere lighting. My friend J asked me where I was about to go to dinner, and I said that place with a weird name, looks kinda pink, poorly lit. He knew exactly what I meant.

First thing you notice about Convivium Osteria is that they put a great deal of effort into the ambiance of the joint. You walk in, and immediately you taken into another world like Jerry O'Connell in Sliders. Maybe I'm trying too hard, or they're trying too hard... but rustic is the word. Or maybe homey. And everything looks yellow, because they use lots of candles. Rustic + homey = winner.

They start you off with some olives in a little red dish, and the olives are sitting in olive oil. It comes with bread. You could pretty much just sit there and eat bread forever, but then you remember they have appetizers.

I had the "Roasted thin sliced berkshire pork loin w/ bonito tuna, capers and homemade mayonnaise." Let me tell you want that tasted like. Are you ready? It tasted like the best tuna fish sandwich I ever had. That sounds kinda harsh, but I like tuna. The pork was super thinly sliced and bare helped, so basically I took the yummy bread and schmeared the tuna mayo on there. Really delicious. I also tried the baby octopus which was pretty light and delish. By far though, the best app was the chicken liver. If I had done my homework and read up on the reviews, it would have said, "Get the artichokes." Oh well.

For the entree, I got the roasted whole fish. It was very good, but since part of the reason for going out to eat is to enjoy the company of friends... let's just say fish bones keep you preoccupied from conversation. The potatoe gnocchi was very good too. The seafood stew was also yummy. Basically everything was good.