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Coco Pazzo CafeCoco Pazzo Café is a casual dining favorite just off the Magnificent Mile. Open throughout the day, Chef Jim Kilberg prepares traditional Tuscan cuisine with a contemporary style. Chef Jim believes that fresh, seasonal ingredients are the secret to his flavorful creations and he is passionate about finding only the best from local and organic sources. Featuring house made pastas, grilled meats and seafood, the menu reflects Owner Jack Weiss’s enthusiasm for the simple ways of traditional Tuscan cuisine.

Located in the heart of Streeterville, this warm and vibrant Tuscan restaurant is open for lunch throughout the day and offers an impressive dinner menu for evening dining. Al fresco seating is available throughout the spring and summer months.

COCO PAZZO BIO'S:

Jack Weiss
Owner: Coco Pazzo and Coco Pazzo Café
jweiss@cocopazzochicago.comJack Weiss, Owner

Jack Weiss has proven himself a master of consistency in all areas of restaurant operations thanks to a business background, a knack for details and a simple ease in dealing with people. As owner of Coco Pazzo and Coco Pazzo Café, Jack has dedicated his career to providing Chicago with authentic Tuscan dining for nearly two decades.

After earning an MBA from Baruch at the City College of New York, Jack worked in corporate marketing for 10 years before starting his career in the restaurant business. “There’s just something special about being the author of a classic, refined restaurant,” says Jack. After managing several upscale Italian restaurants in New York, Jack moved to Chicago and opened Coco Pazzo.

When Coco Pazzo debuted in 1992, it was the first Windy City Italian restaurant to focus on the regional cuisine of Tuscany. Jack succeeded in introducing, and then solidifying, Chicago’s interest in this bold, new world of ingredient driven regional Italian cuisine. Jack’s commitment to the ways of traditional Tuscan cooking has resonated with Chicagoans for over 16 years. Coco Pazzo, in Chicago’s River North, and the more casual Coco Pazzo Café, in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, have both become popular and critical favorites.

Some of Coco Pazzo’s awards include Three Stars from the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times; a DiRona Award (Distinguished Restaurants of North America); an IFMA Award (International Food Manufacturers Association); the Accademia Italia Della Cucina Award; a Wine Enthusiast Award of Distinction: the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence plus acclaim from numerous consumer and trade publications.

As a firm believer in supporting the community, Jack and his Coco Pazzo team work with many charitable organizations in Chicago. Since 1992 they have donated food and beverages to many charitable fundraisers, including Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago Gateway Green, America’s Second Harvest, Share our Strength and Children’s Memorial Hospital. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Illinois Restaurant Association and was inducted into the Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame at the University of Illinois in 2003. Jack was honored with Meals on Wheels, Lifetime Achievement Award for his 15 years service. And finally, as a long time supporter of the arts, in 2008, Jack sponsored a grand benefit to support the creative training ground for Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Ryan Opera Center.
Tamra Presley Weiss
Wine Director: Coco Pazzo
tpweiss@aol.comTamra Weiss, Wine Director

Managing and refining the wine program for Coco Pazzo and Coco Pazzo Cafe is a labor of love for Wine Director Tamra Presley Weiss. Each year she travels to Italy visiting wineries and tasting new vintages to stay updated with what is going on in the world of Italian wines. Her all Italian wine list is focused on Tuscan wines and compliments the dining experience at both restaurants. The larger of the two lists is at Coco Pazzo with more than 200 wines by the bottle and 20 wines by the glass. There are many carefully selected high quality wines that represent excellent values. Small producers of highly allocated and sought after wines of renown are also to be found. The wine list is vibrant and changes frequently to reflect changes in vintages and availability.

Tamra's interest in wine began when she spent 5 years in Geneva, Switzerland at first as a student and then at the World Health Organization. She had the opportunity to travel to Italy frequently. Upon returning to Chicago she worked at the local level in sales for a distributor and then in marketing for the Premium Port Wines which is owned by the Symington family. Her passion for Italian wine and dream to create her own Italian wine program was realized in 1997 when she married restaurateur Jack Weiss.

Many Saturdays are spent educating the staff of both restaurants on the wine list. In order for guests to have the best experience possible they need to have well informed servers who can assist in helping them select a wine that will compliment their meal.

Tamra Presley Weiss has collected an impressive list of awards for Coco Pazzo including the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for the past four years and the Wine Enthusiast Award of Distinction for two years.
Jim Kilberg
Chef: Coco Pazzo Café
jkilberg@cocopazzocafe.comJim Kilberg, Chef: Coco Pazzo Café

Patience, dedication and passion are what Chef Jim Kilberg believes make a chef unique. This energetic young chef brings the authentic flavors of Tuscany to Coco Pazzo Café with the finest local and organic ingredients the season has to offer. While his menu is enticing and varied, if you ask what he enjoys most and what makes him smile, he doesn’t hesitate . . . "a really nice pasta".

Jim grew up as an only child in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton. He attributes his culinary direction to the time he spent as a child cooking for himself after school. With his imagination in high gear, Jim found he really enjoyed the creative outlet that cooking allowed him to explore. After a brief time in art school Jim attended the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon. In addition to honing his culinary talent, Oregon allowed him to perfect his outdoor passion for snowboarding.

Upon graduating in 1996, Jim remained in Portland where he was Sous Chef at Veritable Quandary. After three years, Jim headed east spending time at Sacré Bleu in Denver and then Gioco in Chicago. Realizing his love for Tuscan cuisine, Jim moved to Florence, Italy to refine his culinary talent. He worked under Francesco Bernadelli at Beccofino and, in the Chianti Region, for the resort Borgo di Fontibussi. With this solid Tuscan training, Jim returned to Gioco as Chef. From there, he joined the Bicé organization, first in Orlando then Chicago. In 2008, Jim came to Coco Pazzo Café where he has been applying his love for all things Tuscan to the café’s authentic menu.

Jim is passionate about ingredients and flavor. From olive oil and thyme to saba and honey, Jim finds unique ways to combine seasonal ingredients into each of his Coco Pazzo Café creations. He believes in the Tuscan philosophy of freshness and he is dedicated to bringing it to life each day at Coco Pazzo Café.