Due Lire

There are few things I love more than good northern Italian food. The flavors are brilliant, simple and fresh. The cooking is thoughtful, but without pretense. Plainly put, it's just delicious.

Lucky for me, Lincoln Square now has a solid, authentic northern Italian restaurant option. Due Lire is a recent addition to the neighborhood -- so much so that it's still B.Y.O.V. (Bring Your Own Vino) until the liquor license arrives.

Jeff and I wanted some delicious Italian food, but didn't feel much like traversing the city this frigid Wednesday night. We were having our usual "where to eat, it's already getting late" debate when I remembered two things: 1. A month or two ago, we'd noticed that a place called Due Lire was set to open on Lincoln, near his place in North Center and 2. It had just been listed as one of the restaurants featured in "The Hot List" for the February issue of Chicago magazine.

As a result of the latter fact, we decided to call the restaurant and were thrilled to learn that they could accommodate two people at 8 pm. Perfect. We grabbed a delicious bottle of Burgundy Jeff had on hand and headed out to meet the new neighborhood Italian.

The place was bustling -- on a Wednesday. Clearly, this little neighborhood spot is benefiting from both the heavy foot traffic on Lincoln Ave (located right near Tank, the popular Lincoln Square sushi spot) and its debut in Chicago Magazine. As we waited for our table with a few others awaiting seats, a patron leaving assured us that it was "well worth the wait." That's a good sign.

Neither Jeff nor I was particularly starving, so we ate pretty lightly. I started with the rucola salad, comprised of arugula, grape tomatoes and sharp parmesan cheese. It was very tasty.

For his entree, Jeff ordered the ravioli rustici, which is ravioli that's been stuffed with short rib and served in a flavorful mushroom-laced ragu. It was very good. Smallish portion by typical American standards -- definitely meant to be a starter plate followed by a meat course, but perfect for us this evening.

I had the gnocchi in a Bolognese sauce. The gnocchi was perfect. And as someone who's worked very hard to perfect homemade gnocchi, I know firsthand how hard it is to get it right. (Too much flour and the "pillows" sink like lead. Too little and they're gummy and gross. Gnocchi done well is truly an art.) The Bolognese sauce was good -- a little salty for my taste, but I certainly acknowledge that I am overly sensitive to that sometimes. Most people would probably think it was perfect.

Lastly, we had the cioccolatissimo! for dessert. That's a chocolate lava cake with delicious homemade whipped cream and a touch of amarena cherry sauce drizzled on the plate. It was quite tasty.

At Due Lire, a meal is definitely meant to be a multi-course experience so the portions are manageable. Our experience isn't typical -- on most days, we'd have needed to order (or at least split) a meat course as well to ensure that we left with full stomachs. And I can't wait to go back and do just that because the meat courses looked amazing. I especially want to try the filetto manzo, a pancetta-wrapped fillet with sauteed mushrooms and a red wine reduction.

For a salad, two pasta dishes and a dessert, the bill came to $49 with tax. (This also included a $5 glass fee.) As I noted, we'd need more food to feel satiated on a normal day, but it was perfect for tonight. Overall, Due Lire was quite reasonable... and quite tasty.

We'll definitely be back -- and I'm looking forward to it already.

Art in Action at Terzo Piano

This was a crazy wedding-filled weekend, but don't worry... I still managed to eat, experience and analyze. (Unfortunately, given the occasion, I refrained from attacking some of the venues/food with my normal paparazzi-style zeal. Sorry, peeps. Gives you a great reason to get out and see some of these places for yourselves!)

Friday night, I went to Terzo Piano for my friend Mary Eileen's rehearsal dinner. Terzo Piano is the new restaurant on the third floor of the Modern Wing at the Art Institute. The literal translation of "terzo piano" is "third floor" in Italian, but it's also a play on the the designer of the Modern Wing's name, Renzo Piano. The cuisine is modern Italian and the head chef is heralded Chicago restaurateur Tony Mantuano, of Spiaggia and The Purple Pig acclaim.

I was instantly struck by the beauty of the space, which is absolutely in keeping with the modern, artistic aesthetic that marks the Modern Wing. In addition to the stylish interior dining space, there's an amazing patio where guests enjoyed cocktails before dinner and caught the last of the Tall Ships fireworks after our meal. (Normally, this outdoor space has seating for 60 lucky ladies and gentlemen to dine al fresco.)

Obviously, since I was there for an event instead of dining off of their regular menu, my experience was a little unusual. However, based on this experience, I can say this: I would go back to try the regular restaurant offerings at any time. The presentation was as artistic as you'd expect when dining in the home of so many great works. Everything I tried was as beautiful as it was tasty.

The passed hors d'oeuvres were solid, the salad was fresh and balanced, and the beef entree option was outstanding. This is a feat, considering that beef entrees oten come out overly well-done at events where the meals are not ordered a la carte. Not so here: the beef tenderloin was served (artfully, of course) at a perfect medium to medium-rare and it was delicious. Lastly, their fudgy chocolate pie was impeccable. I think I may have detected a pretzel crust... Amazing.

Something to know: the hours at Terzo Piano are a little unconventional. The space is open for lunch Monday through Sunday, but dinner service happens only once a week -- on Thursday. Given these hours of operation, they must do an extraordinary amount of private events. After my Friday evening experience, I am happy to say that they do them very, very well.

For more information on Terzo Piano, click here.

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