We Loova Uva!

We Magpies were looking for a cool place for dinner that was trendy (without trying to be) with good food and wine to impress some of our West Coast friends. When one Magpie suggested Uva, on Second Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets, we all agreed it would be the perfect place!  As you enter Uva, there are bistro tables for dining outside, and the small dining room has exposed brick and dark wood accents which give it a very intimate, comfortable feel. Behind the main dining room is garden seating for outdoor dining as well. The food at Uva is just so tasty and delicious – and since the portions are small, you never feel like you’ve overeaten (even when you have)!  We started with an order of the  “Carta Da Musica Condita” crispinis drizzled with truffle oil and shaved truffle and Parmesan cheese. These are very thin wafer-sized chips but are packed with lots of flavor.

At the same time, we ordered a “chisolino” (a 4″ individual pan pizza…who knew pizza can be made soooo small!) topped with artichokes, smoked mozzarella and tomato sauce. But the size didn’t matter when it came to taste. Each bite was so flavorful – these were perfect appetizers to pair with our wine.

We also ordered the gnocchi as an appetizer to split as well. We all savored the petite pasta shells stuffed with ricotta that were bathing in a light, creamy black truffle and chive sauce.

We then ordered our main dishes, which were also small platters, but the right size for our West Coast crew (they’re from L.A. where they eat like birds…just not MAGPIES!). We had the “Pollo alla Partneopea” (chicken breast filled with caciocavallo cheese, with plum tomato sauce and stewed – delicious – artichokes…

…the “Gamberoni Grigliati” – grilled jumbo shrimp in a homemade pesto sauce…

…and the “Melanzane alla Parmigiana” – Uva’s baked eggplant parmigiana dish. It’s prepared in a most delicious way – it’s really like eggplant lasagna baked with tomato sauce, basil and parmigiano cheese.

Though all the dishes were really good, our unanimous fave was the eggplant. And now for the highlight of the meal…dessert! One would think after an Italian meal, complete with appetizers and wine, that we would be too full to order anything else. Well, one would think wrong! We happen to be professional eaters and we knew to pace ourselves to save room for dessert (which again, was not too difficult since the portions are soo small, hehe). We wanted to end our dinner on a sweet note. We chose the “Fragole Con Crema al Mascarpone” (fresh strawberries topped with a dollop of homemade whipped mascarpone cream (so yummy and refreshing – highly recommended!)…

…which paired nicely with the “Salame del Papa” – the Italian chocolate “salami” – which was a petite, dense chocolate roll with crunchy white chocolate pieces throughout.  The “salami” is sliced into slim, bite-size pieces with a scoop (again…small) of  fresh whipped cream on the side.

Lastly, we tried a “Torta di Mandorle” – a warm almond tart topped with vanilla ice cream and artfully surrounded by a white chocolate and chocolate sauce.

It was the most perfect way to end our perfect meal.  We loved our dinner at Uva, and our friends not only loved it, but were stuffed too (that’s why they live in L.A.). The only negative comment about Uva is that though it is really cozy inside, the acoustics are not great for conversation. So, when you go to Uva, you must eat first…talk later.  That said, you should definitely make a date to go there  -  we Magpies loova Uva, and we bet Uva’ll loove it too!!