Eat Here: Coco Pazzo Cafe, Chicago

From the website - Try sitting outside and enjoy the neighborhood ambiance.

Last week I was in Chicago attending the American Library Association's "Annual Conference".  26,000 librarians, vendors and others converged on Chicago.  No surprise, a lot of Tweets, FaceBook and blog posts revolved around food.  Chicago has a long tradition of foods from everywhere you can imagine.

The Modigliani inspired murals high above head are just a small part of the ambiance.

My friend Bob invited me to dinner at the Coco Pazzo Cafe, one of two restaurants with the moniker in the City.  The sister, Coco Pazzo is a step up, a little more formal and, obviously more expensive.  The "Cafe" is a wonderful, warm, noisy place where you relax, drink, dine and people watch. Located in the Streeterville area at 636 N. St. Clair, it is easy to find and well worth any effort you might expend.

Copper topped bar .

The bar at Coco Pazzo Cafe makes wonderful cocktails, serves up great wines (many by the glass) and makes a great perch for people watching.

Yes Babs, there will always be martinis.

The ambiance is unequalled. The service is attentive without being cloying and the food, well.. it is wonderful.   So good in fact that I didn't take enough photos. Go figure.  But when I say if you ever eat there and they have the Risotto with Seasonal Vegetables as a special?  ORDER IT!

My selection, Risotto With Seasonal Vegetables.

The drinks were cold and right. The food was hot and right. The dessert, a Pistachio Semifreddo with strawberries was so spellbinding I didn't even snap a photo. Trust me on this one, it was memorable.

Go there. Enjoy. You will thank me and yourself too!