restaurantgirl

Address: 74 Seventh Ave., nr. Barrow St.
Phone: (212) 367-7470
Dinner: Mon.-Sun.CUISINE  Inspired Italian
Vibe:  Stylish West Village clamor
Occassion:  Night out downstairs, intimate date upstairs
Don't miss dish: Rabbit involtino, fennel pollen-crusted porkchop
Drink Specialty: 25 well-priced quartinos
Price: Appetizers $3-$18; entrees $19-$36;     desserts $8
Reservations: Recommended a week in advance

This is chef Anne Burrell's domain.  Visible through an open kitchen, Burrell (Felidia, Savoy) dons a cowgirl skirt and a newly minted executive chef coat, her spiky-haired likeness stitched onto the sleeve. She's the embodiment of a rock star chef: ambitious, saucy and thrilled to be making her long-awaited debut. These traits texture nearly every fearless dish on the Italian menu, a welcome detour from the garden variety trattorias of late.

Owner Sasha Muniak (Gusto, Mangia) and designer Thomas Juul-Hansen have morphed what was formerly Lemongrass Grill into a sleek, two-story eatery that is a tale of two restaurants. On the one hand, the neighborhood set eagerly crowds around a stylish bar, dominated by a glittery three-tiered chandelier - a modern rendition of a disco ball that sets the first floor abuzz. On the other, Centro Vinoteca's upstairs dining room summons a more intimate escape from the boisterous crowd below.

But there's no getting around the bar buzz. It infectiously spills into the first-floor dining room, where you'll also feel the sporadic rumble of the subway below. Oddly enough, you won't mind at all. Instead, you'll relax into irresistibly plush banquettes, where vintage glass chandeliers float above nadun wood tables.

You'll promptly succumb to the procession of piccolini (small plates), which move swiftly from the kitchen to the table. Anne is intent on assuaging impatient New Yorkers with tiny morsels that wring out audacious flavors.

"I'll never see a deviled egg the same way again," a companion declared as she reveled in the creamy, black truffle-specked filling. Deceptively straightforward, eggplant cakes unravel currents of Parmesan, garlic and rosemary, each nugget capped off with ricotta and fiery pepper flakes. Bite-size pork and pancetta patties arrive perched on earthy cremini mushroom platforms - another excellent passage into the meal.

You could easily invest an evening in piccolini territory, but the rest of the menu - antipasti, salad, pasta and secondi - is just as sharp. Snatch up terrifically charred scallops, tossed with a melange of vinegary watermelon rind pickles and dandelion greens, as they'll tragically disappear come fall. Tender calamari "noodles" stand in for pasta, basking in a lively garlicky white wine broth.

Burrell sneaks bold flavors into even the most delicate of dishes. Crunchy bits of smoky guanciale become the perfect foil for a sage butter-glossed raviolo, coddling a precious yolk on a ricotta pillow within. An impeccably supple rabbit involtino gets a spirited awakening from a sausage and pine nut stuffing.

There are a few bumps on the otherwise smooth road map of the menu. A red snapper was unremarkable, fried gnocchi were suffocated by a rich Bolognese sauce, and an overly salty mortadella pâté recalled childhood memories of Oscar Meyer baloney sandwiches.

Centro Vinoteca is not without its own restaurant drama. Owner Muniak's initial plans to move chef Jody Williams into the kitchen were thwarted when Williams left to join Keith McNally at Morandi. In a classic case of musical chefs, Burrell simultaneously abandoned dreams of the stalled European Union, fortuitously teaming up with Muniak to spark this charged spot.

Centro Vinoteca's got everything: a star in the kitchen, a packed house, a dizzying array of sublime plates - and those glorious piccolini.