Convivial -- 3 Stars

We had the pleasure of dining last night at Convivial -- a relatively new (2 year old) restaurant in the Shaw neighborhood.  It was the second time we had gone and the first time for our friends Bob & Lisa.

The experience was good enough that it was worth reporting.  I start with the end -- Katy is lactose intolerant and none of the deserts on the menu were lactose-free.  So ... the chef made her a desert.   It was a vacheron (sp?) with berries and it was made from scratch just for her.  I liked my key lime pie better but the effort that went into creating a single desert for someone who needed it was so remarkable that even if the rest of the food had been "blah" I would have fallen in love.

And the rest of the food was NOT at all "blah."  We started with a nibble -- traditional latkes (potato pancakes) in small bite sized pieces, topped with vinegared celery root and cured lamb.  Tiny bites of perfection.  Small appetizer plates were next -- my burrata was sublime and the dijonaised leeks (that's them in the picture) that Katy had were just wonderful, but I think the winner was Bob's fish sticks (yes, fish sticks) made from snakehead fish.  Talk about turning a silks purse (snakehead are an invasive species) into a sow's ear.  Though I will speak highly as well of the roasted cauliflower that Lisa had -- light on the palate.

Main courses were just a fantastic.  Katy's trout literally melted in your mouth.  My lamb merguez was wonderfully fresh and spicy on a bed of hummus.  Lisa's guinea fowl was cooked to perfection but Bob "won" again with fried chicken (yes, fried chicken) prepared as coq a vin style.  To top it off, we had the Tablas Creek, "Patelin de Tablas" off the wine list to make a really wonderful meal complete.

We want very much to go back when the weather is nice -- the outdoor patio looks great for summer.  And the vibe of the place was just right -- young folks from the Shaw neighborhood, but the noise level was not too high.  We give it 3 stars.