Degustation: Convivio

Diana Lewis, 2L

Contributor

Times are tough and restaurants in New York City are feeling the heat. Many are closing their doors, some are restructuring their menus to cut food costs, and others are offering recession deals. Convivio, located at 45 Tudor Place, is a transformation success story. It is the much ballyhooed re-working of the three-star Italian eatery L’Impero. Situated in a faux English apartment complex on a hill overlooking the United Nations, the restaurant is tucked away in a peaceful, protected nook of one-way streets.

We went to Convivio on a Sunday night during Restaurant Week to take advantage of the $35 prix fixe dinner menu. The front entrance was closed, so we walked in behind the apartment building’s security guard. This immediately put me at ease—no rigid formalities at this place. The attentive hostess took our coats and we were promptly shown to a very plush, bright red banquette commanding a view of the room. The changes to the restaurant’s decor are relatively minimal, but the menu is significantly different than L’Impero.

We were offered a variety of breads, and served some flavorful buttery olive oil in a small clear glass pitcher so that we could appreciate its cloudy and unprocessed character. My husband introduced himself to the sommelier, chatted about the wine list, then ordered two fantastic bottles of wine—one white, one red. We do like to indulge! Next thing we knew, the waiter was bringing over four cold dishes on the house. These antipasti couldn’t have been more different: one bowl of blanched, marinated spicy cucumbers in a sweet and sour—the best fresh pickles!—some salami cut in quarter-sized chunks, smoky wood fire roasted mushrooms, and big green piquant olives. They were all perfect and we ate every bite.

Unlike some restaurants with expensive reputations, Convivio does not cut corners during Restaurant Week. Everything on the prix fixe is on the regular menu. For the first course we had duck sausage with lentils and pane cotta soup with beans, broccoli rabe, pancetta, and sheep’s milk ricotta. Both were fantastic. The lentils were savory and earthy, the soup an appropriate wintry dish that felt true to the season.

For a main course, we had a lovely pork stew served on top of a bowl of creamy polenta. It was a wonderful, wintry dish—rich and hearty in a roasted tomato sauce. We also enjoyed the chewiest, finest homemade spaghetti ever made. It must have been kneaded and kneaded for hours. Spaghetti with tomato sauce on a Restaurant Week menu, you ask? Get it. You won’t be disappointed. Although the menu also featured a mackerel dish, we didn’t order it. I would have liked to try it, but maybe next time.

For dessert we ordered amaro gelato with freshly brewed espresso and mini cannolis. The amaro gelato tasted like the best coffee ice cream that isn’t ice cream. It’s brilliant amaro ice with espresso, the finest grown-up ice cream sundae imaginable. Close your eyes and you feel like you’re in a ristorante somewhere in Italy, a place you imagine exists only in a perfect culinary universe. You gotta get this dessert! It’s outta sight!

While the regular menu is cost prohibitive, this is a great place to try during Restaurant Week. Unlike many established fine dining establishments, Convivio’s staff treats Restaurant Week customers the same way they do their full price diners: they are there to please your palate.