Piano Due and Palio

Downstairs at the Equitable Center on West 51st Street is one of the most spectacular bars in New York, Palio; named after the famed horse race in Sienna. It contains a spectacular mural depicting the race in vibrant colors. The bar itself is in the center of the room and here is where our celebration began with Champagne before going up to the restaurant. The bar is worth the visit and the drinks were not overly expensive ($20 for two).

A small elevator took us to the restaurant on the second floor where the room is quite nice, although not up to the standards of the bar. The restaurant, called Piano Due (second floor in Italian) has only been open for a little over a year. It specializes in classic Northern Italian cuisine at prices somewhat less than its sister restaurant Scalini Fedeli in TriBeCa. So far it is not crowded and the room was only 2/3 full on Tuesday.

Both Chris and I started with "Rucola Con Funghi" (sauteed parmigiano crusted portobello mushroom, with the jus of roasted chicken with orange, served along side baby arugula topped with shaved parm). It was absolutely wonderful. The mushrooms were tender and only lightly dusted with cheese. The sauce was just the slightest bit sweet from orange bits. We asked for more bread to sop up the sauce it was that good!

Given that we both started with the same thing (very unusual) we decided to share a pasta course "Rigatoni con Rapa" (sausage and broccoli di rapa with sun-dried tomato and olive oil sauce, caramelized pecorino romano). This was pretty good, but a little too much oil made it heavy.

I then followed that with "Anatra al Porto" (slow roasted duck breast with an apple-shallot puree in a port wine and mushroom reduction over vanilla braised endives). It was delicious and served perfectly rare. Chris, who didn't like her swordfish, shared it with me. In addition to the breast, it was served with a separate "leg confit" that was tasty but unnecessary. It could have easily fed two people (a good thing as it turned out). Chris had the Sword Fish over broccoli rabae, Tuscan style cannelli beans, shelled musseles (they were the best part of this dish) in orange reduction. She thought the fish was a little over-cooked and too salty and the beans just o.k. making it not so tragic to leave it on the plate.

We had a very nice 2004 Pinot Grigio recommended by the Captain. It was just rich enough to complement the Duck. It's notable that it was half the price of the red wine I had selected--that doesn't happen very often.

Since it was our anniversary, we shared a Torte Di Limone (warm lemon cream tart set in a vanilla scented crust with seasonal berries and artisanal honey) that I thought was just about perfect and Chris left all to me. However, since it was our anniversary, they also brought us Strawberries Romanoff (with zabaglione). Chris just loved that. So much for eating on the lighter side!

Overall, a very nice restaurant in a lovely room with attentive friendly service. Too bad about the swordfish!

Piano Due

Equitable Center

151 West 51st Street (bet 6th & 7th Aves)

212-399-9400