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.