Italian food is intertwined into the fabric of NYC. So much so that often times it isn’t even noticed. Italian Americans have been a part of the everyday life of New York City for hundreds of years. With such a long history sometimes it’s easy to overlook the pizza slice shop on the corner. Or that linguine has somehow found it’s way onto the menus of numerous Thai restaurants. And that pasta sauce, once a rare grocery store item can now be found at every supermarket or bodega. But right now were talking about Italian American food and not necessarily Italian food. While Italian American food descended from it’s obvious origin they’re not to be confused. Their divergent history has made them more like cousins than identical twins. In the vast pantheon of New York City restaurants and eateries sometimes you stumble upon something that’s uniquely Italian.
Convivium Osteria is an Italian restaurant in the heart of Park Slope Brooklyn. Stepping through the old antique front door is like stepping half a world away. You’re greeted instantly by a rustic interior full of old wood and pots and pans hanging from the walls. It has the feel of a Roman restaurant from long ago. Step down the stairs to the winer cellar and you’re once again taken even further away across the sea and back in time. Grab a table and bring a group of friends and forget the city above.
When I met Carlo the owner he told me of the restaurant where he used to cook in Rome. Of the two young boys who grew up to be the owners of another Italian restaurant that I’ve worked with. Italy is the biggest little country in the world. But it’s that lineage to his home country that makes the food so uniquely Italian. Not Italian American but Italian Italian. I really enjoyed my time with Carlo in his kitchen. Photographing his spinach gnocchi and leg of lamb. His food was delicious and he was a delight to work with.
