Convivium Osteria

I have a friend with the good fortune to live half a block away from Convivium Osteria. (Now if only I knew someone who lived across from Al Di La.) Yesterday was her birthday, and along with our companions, we celebrated in Convivium's intimate backyard garden. (The main room is lovely as well, with walls decorated by copper pots and long strings of garlic cloves.)

As we munched on olives and bread, my friend remarked how she felt transported far outside of Brooklyn. (Unfortunately, this mood would soon be marred by jarring music from the adjacent backyard. But such is life in the big city!)

Our waiter recommended a bottle of 2000 So Syrah, and we all got to work on choosing some appetizers and entrees. Because of the spinach crisis, a beet and spinach salad would be replaced by one made with watercress, walnut and Cabrales. Several dishes caught my eye: meat-filled cappeletti in a free-range hen consomme, pappardelle and braised oxtail, free-range quail in with figs and port wine sauce.

For appetizers, we ordered the watercress salad, pan-fried Portuguese sardines, and seafood assortment. The salad delighted me with its generously sprinkled, pungent Cabrales. A light walnut vinaigrette dressed the peppery watercress leaves. The seafood assortment included crab-stuffed red peppers, a prawn, fritters of salt cod and onion, and boquerones. These white anchovies were a pleasant surprise; they are sometimes overbrined.

My dinner selection was the artichoke Bel Paese ravioli in a butter sauce. Although I was a wee bit disappointed that there were only five ravioli surrounding the buttery artichoke hearts, the filling was very creamy and rich. I also got to taste the moist red snapper with capers, tomatoes and sliced potatoes, the pinenut-crusted rack of lamb with nicely-browned cauliflower, and a whole sea bass.

Dessert was excellent, especially the flourless chocolate cake. Not too dense or sweet, it was smooth in texture and melted in my mouth. A dollop of whipped cream and raspberries was a perfect garnish. I also liked the panna cotta smothered with blueberries and a plum tart sporting plenty of big tangy slices of plum and a buttery crust.

A few double espressos later, we noticed the anxious glances of our waiter - the line out Convivium's door had grown exponentially, so we vacated our seats for the next happy diners. (I recommend arriving around 6 or 6:30 p.m., if possible. Although Convivium is not quite as hard to get into as Al Di La, it's getting there!) I hope my friend had as good a time celebrating her birthday as I did.

Convivium Osteria: 68 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, (718) 857-1833.