THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Pico

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Pico Restaurant Review:

This newcomer from chef John Villa, who wowed New York with his contemporary food at JUdson Grill in the mid-’90s, explores the cuisine of Portugal. Villa doesn’t pretend that the menu is entirely authentic, but rather Portuguese preparations are the springboard for his cooking. To start, pemeiro prato includes bacalao cakes with blood orange-radish salad, steamed cockles with chorico and vinho verde, and foie gras with braised quince. For the main course, segundo prato includes duck braised in terra cotta, rouget a la plancha and roast saddle of rabbit with chickpea cake. The décor, designed by Villa’s wife, Regina Graves, could be described as modern rustic with its exposed brick and beams, a six-foot tall wire sculpture of a rooster (a Portuguese good luck symbol) and lots of colorful ceramics.