In terms of the food, the evening was something of an educational adventure for me, as I’m almost completely uninitiated into the delights of Mediterranean cuisine. For appetizers, we shared the “Trio of Spreads” and the “Spanish Octopus,” the former of which was a somewhat redundant order since the restaurant already provides complimentary flatbread with olives and hummus, and it was the exact same hummus included in the “Trio” also. Moreover, another spread was something called baba ganoush, an eggplant-based dip with a very heavy smokiness to it. I can imagine growing to like it through continued exposure, but it’s too peculiar to like upon a first encounter. But—the “Trio” also includes a creamy cucumber dill dip called tzatziki, which I have no idea how to pronounce (should’ve just asked our server. I don’t even have a good excuse for not doing so; can’t even claim that the server seemed too condescending for me to risk showing my ignorance. He was actually very nice and didn’t at all seem like the sort of server who would mock or judge a diner for not knowing how to pronounce words on the menu), but that was delicious. All their spreads, our server, Nathon, told us, are made in-house. 

The gustatory highlight of my meal was the “Spanish Octopus,” which we nearly didn’t order—I don’t think most people would see the word “octopus” on a menu and go, “Oh my god, I’ve been craving that!”—except Nathon said it’s the restaurant’s signature appetizer, so we decided to give it a chance (after requesting that they serve the chorizo on the side so it wouldn’t offend my vegetarianism). You know how sometimes you take a bite of something, and everything suddenly fades into the background because your senses have become completely captivated by what’s happening in your mouth? I remember Charlie was in the middle of some story when I took my first bite of that octopus, but once that incredibly tender morsel was in my mouth, I was no longer paying attention to anything he was saying. Hope there won’t be a pop quiz.

For my entrée, I had the branzino. It was tender and tasted fresh, although I would’ve preferred a different seasoning; it was served with sauce de Provence, and the pairing of fish with a tomato-based condiment seemed strange to me. In my humble opinion, a simple sprinkling of salt, together with the lemon half that garnished the dish, would’ve seasoned it adequately without overpowering the natural sweetness of the fish.