Last year around this time I blogged about Table Seven. It's gone now. I'm not surprised; the food just wasn't fabulous. While I hate to see a local restaurant go under, I'm glad that we got the chance to experience its replacement, Convivio.
Tapas is one of our favorite concepts, and the menu at Convivio did not disappoint. We ended up trying quite a few of these little dishes: braised oxtail montatido (which was served on bread); prime sirloin with beer sauce (also a montadito, served on bread); chorizo croquettes (pictured above); foie gras (pictured below); and the meatballs. To wash all that down we had a bottle of Spanish red wine, chosen off the enormous wine list which is cleverly presented pasted to an empty bottle.
Both the food and drink menu are so large that there really is something for everyone. Because we sampled so many dishes, I'll break it down as quickly and succinctly as I can:
Braised oxtail: a little stringy but very flavorful. The portion was much larger than expected; what arrived was more akin to an open-faced sandwich than a canape.
Prime Sirloin: by far the best dish of the night. Sweet and savory, nice sized portion, very tender meat.
Croquette: nothing to write home about. Not enough chorizo flavor, oddly sweet filling, and I couldn't really tell what went into the dipping sauce, but I didn't love it. Skip.
Foie: not the best foie we have ever had (that was August), but still tasty. Probably because foie is ALWAYS tasty. Worth a shot, if you know and like foie and want an inexpensive fix.
Meatballs: our waiter recommend them. Good standard fare. Tasty sauce and arrived very quickly. I could see this being popular with a large variety of people.
Our server was sweet, competent, and happy to offer suggestions (particularly in choosing the wine). Unlike its predecessor, Convivio had a healthy crowd, and I have a good feeling that it's going to make it.
