Best Dishes: Rigatoni Alla Buttera at Coco Pazzo

Every week, readers of The Chicago Tribune's Play section tell the editors about their favorite dishes in Chicagoland restaurants.

As I was perusing the options this morning, I noticed that it features one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes at one of my very favorite Italian restaurants: the Rigatoni at Coco Pazzo.

I was going to write about Farmers' Markets in Chicago today, but the thought of the Rigatoni alla Buttera stopped me cold. I knew what I had to do: talk about Coco Pazzo.

Coco Pazzo is a River North restaurant that serves Tuscan cuisine -- both contemporary and traditional -- and places a strong emphasis on freshness of ingredients. This focus is evident in their dishes, which take everyday Italian well above and beyond the familiar. Their bread is baked in-house daily; their pastas are all handmade fresh each day. The menu changes frequently in order to enable the chefs to use the freshest ingredients possible.

However, one menu staple is the Rigatoni alla Buttera... And thank God. It is so wonderful. Every time I'm there, I have to order at least an appetizer portion of the Rigatoni. (If you'd like, you can create a main course of 2 or 3 appetizer portions of their pastas. I've been known to do this on at least a few occasions.) But I digress. Back to the Rigatoni.

The fresh Rigatoni pasta (my favorite shape for its propensity to pick up the perfect amount of sauce -- and peas, in this instance) is served in an impeccable tomato cream sauce with fennel sausage and peas. I know, I know, I talk about balance a lot, but I do believe it's so much of what makes a truly great dish. Not surprisingly, you've got it here. Pasta and tomato cream sauce is always a beautiful combination, with the acidity of a typical tomato sauce playing nicely off of the richness of a hint of cream. However, when you throw in the spice and depth of some fennel sausage and the sweetness of peas, it's really taken to the next level. Texturally speaking, this dish is flawless. The pasta and sausage provide substance, the peas a pop of freshness and there is just enough smooth, rich sauce to tie the entire dish together flawlessly.

Eat this. Immediately. And while you're there, don't hesitate to try the gnocchi and the risotto of the day. Both are always spectacular (and frequently make up pasta options 2 & 3 on my plate).

While you're dining, don't hesitate to sample their award winning 200+ wine list. I can't tell you how many delicious bottles I've tried here. Their servers are extremely knowledgeable in the fine art of wine pairings and can definitely assist your table in finding the perfect fit(s) for your meal.

Their desserts are also awesome. My favorites (and at this point, I've tried almost the entire list) are the panna cotta, the travoletta and the fondente. The panna cotta is an eggless vanilla bean custard, served with caramel sauce and fresh berries. And it's out of this world. The travoletta takes richness to a new level with Gianduja mousse, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate hazelnut crunch and raspberry coulis. The fondente is a warm flourless chocolate cake served with cappucino gelato. Unbelievable. That said, every dessert I've had here has been great, these are just my top three.

Also not to be missed is their selection of gelatos. Truly amazing. You get a little trio of flavors, so you don't have to pick just one. These vary, but my favorite is the stracciatella -- just as it was when Jenny and I were traveling through Italy and making up to 3 gelato stops daily. (BTW, stracciatella is similar to chocolate chip ice cream.)

The only dessert on the menu that I haven't tried is the dolce limone, which is described as candied lemon cream, amarena cherries, marscapone sorbet and amaretti crumble. Suffice to say, I'll be giving that a whirl next time I'm there.

Oh my gosh, Coco Pazzo. You make me so happy.

To learn more about Coco Pazzo, visit http://www.cocopazzochicago.com/coco-pazzo.html

To check out The Chicago Tribune's Must-Try Dishes for this week, visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/dining/chi-100224-chicago-best-dishes-pictures,0,7166686.photogallery