River North's Brick-Lined Tuscan
Coco Pazzo on Hubbard Street has been one of River North's reference Tuscan rooms for three decades. The format is the proper Italian-American Tuscan dining room: handmade pastas, wood-fired meats, considered seafood, and the warm brick-lined interior the format is built around.
The cooking is traditional Tuscan with restaurant-grade discipline: pastas rolled daily, slow-cooked Tuscan meats, considered seasonal fish, and the kind of regional Italian wine programme the format demands.
What to Order
Pasta first. The kitchen rolls daily and the seasonal preparations are reliably the strongest part of the menu. Bistecca alla Fiorentina when on; seafood in regional Tuscan preparations. The wine list rewards a Tuscan red ordered with care.
The Setting
The brick-lined dining room is warm, well-lit, and unmistakably Italian-American. The bar absorbs walk-ins; the dining room takes anniversary dinners.
Best Occasion: Anniversary
An anniversary at Coco Pazzo is one of River North's quiet classics. The room provides the setting; the kitchen handles the meal; the regional Tuscan wine programme provides the ascent the celebration deserves.