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FYI:  Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale + Dark Chocolate = Excellent!

Italian on the East Side - Convivio

So Convivio was definitely very good on a number of fronts.  We did the $59 prix fixe and concentrated on a mostly seafood path through the menu for the first course.  From what we ate it seemed pretty clear that Michael White, who was there hanging out with a table in the dining room around when we were leaving, seems to do very well with bright acidic notes.  He was really able to use them to make certain dishes pop.  For the appetizer Alison had a three pieces of yellow tail with a mix of olive oil and fennel, capers, and lemon had an excellent contrast and really hit some high notes.  My marinated sardines with a caper-type pod was good but didn't shout in the same way.

Our pasta course, where White is supposed to shine was also quite good.  I had a saffron gnocchi with crab and sea urchin.  It was pleasantly buttery-seeming (though I don't think White cooks with it) and the gnocchi were substantial, smooth, and flavorful.  I wouldn't write home about it, but it was solid.  Alison had a ricotta and leek in spinach tortellini that was incredibly delicate and broke and melted all over your tongue.  It was excellent.

For our secondi we both got fish dishes again.  Alison got the bronzino again that had another nice pop of bright colors to it.  I got the mackerel over potatoes and some other things that are escaping me.  It was put together with all the richness that you would want on the coldest rainiest rawest New York day.  It was a strong testament to White's ability to be successful in very different ways with fish.  Our server suggested coming back for more of a meat-centric experience to get the full picture, but on very empty stomachs.  Those portions are supposed to be much larger.

For desert we had a nectarine tart with a delicious almond ice cream that was good but I probably wouldn't order again.  We also got what was a relatively massive mini-flourless chocolate cake that was made with a rich and multi-noted cocoa and topped with candied hazelnuts that were out of this world - definitely a far cry from the traditional hit your over the head hazelnut flavor that I come by too often in ice creams.

Two other things struck me about Convivio.  First, the wine list was very well put together.  I don't like it when wine stores organize their wines by their characteristics.  I still feel like you're taking a shot in the dark when you pick like that.  If you really want to get what you want you should be able to ask a knowledgeable employee.  At a restaurant, however, I found that it helped to narrow down the choices before the sommelier came by.  It was particularly helpful that not only were the reds and whites split into a very small number of categories, but each one was further broken down by region of Italy.  This was nice, especially since drinking wine with my friend Gene has exposed me much more to wines from Italy's north.  We settled on a nice mellow red with hints of rose.  It was a good, well-assisted choice.

The other thing that was particularly noticeable was that despite having a reservation for 5 (we had to catch the Steve Earle concert at Judson Memorial Church around 8) and were the first party at the restaurant.  The next party of two that came it was seated directly next to us despite the fact that about 20 other tables for 2 were available.

Overall, it was excellent.  If there weren't so many (okay 2) excellent pasta options (for but a fraction of the price in my neighborhood) I'd be back for that meat version even sooner than I will.

Bruni's review here and Platt here.