Chef Marta Pulini with first course
You enter stylish Coco Pazzo to a small intimate bar and stroll through a low-ceilinged passage to the quiet drama of an ample dining room with gleaming crockery behind glass cabinets, hanging lamps and spacious tables on hardwood floors. But don’t let Coco Pazzo’s townhouse luxury fool you. Executive chef Marta Pulini calls her cuisine “modern Italian home cooking,” and once you’ve sampled her deliberately unaffected artistry you might as well be in her rustic Modena farmhouse. (Pulini, who earned a degree in biology, started cooking as a hobby and finally succumbed to her passion for food.)

Not to be missed: Pulini’s signature appetizers like Funghi di Stagione Fritti—crispy oyster, shitake, and cremini mushrooms in a light batter of fresh herbs and beer, or the simplest platter of succulent fresh-roasted tomatoes and milky ricotta cheese. Her special touch: 100-year-old balsamic vinegar aged in oak barrels (the oaken flavor melts into the delectable syrup, its bottle designed by the Ferrari company), drizzled over a wedge of parmesan cheese. Choice entrées include a whole-roasted fish—branzino—with rosemary, lemon, and herbs stuffed in its belly—served over wilted Swiss chard. Or tender Ossobuco with braised veggies over herb risotto. For dessert, go for the Panna Cotta with an orange and cranberry compote, Torta di Mele Cotogne, an upside-down fresh quince tart with vanilla gelato, or Zuppa di Agrumi—fresh citrus soup with tangerine sorbet. At Coco Pazzo, trendy meets homey and elegance gets real. 23 E74 • 212.794.0205

 
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