Convivio

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Michael White has gone from three-star chef to “Con” man: After earning a troika from the Times at Alto, the acclaimed chef, along with partner Chris Cannon, has now turned Alto’s stately (if somewhat stiff) sibling L’Impero into Convivio. Southern Italian cuisine is the focus here, which White characterizes as “not wussy, it’s not pussy food: It’s ballsy. It’s got gusto.” Upping the gusto-ness: small plates (or sfizi) like pepperoncini with anchovies and mozzarella, along with richly flavored pastas (saffron gnochetti with crab and sea urchin) and mains (grilled swordfish with tomatoes, mint and garlic). White, who describes himself as “Norwegian by heritage but Italian by marriage” (his wife is from Southern Italy, natch), took over from former Alto/L’Impero chef Scott Conant in 2007 and completes the transition with a full aesthetic overhaul at Convivio: sleek surfaces, orange banquettes and mod-ish chairs. Says White, “What’s important to me is to get the bones out and make this restaurant my own.”

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