At the end of my first meal at Fellow Osteria, our young waitress brought my wife and I two petals of begonia — scarlet begonia, just like the Grateful Dead song. “Eat these,” she told us. I blinked once and placed a petal between my teeth. It ruptured like silk, releasing a flavor like crushed raspberry, a wild burst of tang.
Eating at Fellow Osteria can be like eating that flower. Given the restaurant’s origins, this may be unexpected. Fellow comes from a duo known for black-bean pancakes, chicken-and-waffle “bao buns,” and pig-face dumplings. It comes from Joshua James and Nick Campisano, who, at their two locations of The Clever Koi, serve food cherry-picked from Asia and then YOLO-twisted.
