His restaurant, brick by brick

Vincent Chirico, chef and owner of the Upper West Side spot Vai Restaurant, cooks up modern Mediterranean/Italian food influenced by his grandmother. But Chirico isn’t just good with his hands in the kitchen — he also built the entire restaurant by hand.

Where are you?

I’m at the restaurant, where I always am.

I hear that people call you “The Italian Stallion.”

What? My mother would kill me if you use that. And my staff would never let me live it down — spare me the pain, please.

We’ll see. What dish do you make when you want to impress a lady?

My speciality is a Bronzino fish, a kind of Mediterranean sea bass — it’s beautiful and flaky.

Beautiful and flaky?

[Laughs] We don’t want to say that, do we? What about ravioli with truffle cream? That’s kind of sexy. That’s one I would do if she wasn’t health conscious and I were trying to win her over.

You’re a successful restaurant owner. What’s your secret?

There’s a little bit of luck involved. Also, I chose having experience over having money in my early years. That’s helped.  

Vai Restaurant
255 W. 77th St., 212-362-4500
www.vairestaurant.com