Fresh Pasta Made in the Window: Tortello in Chicago
“I don’t think you’re going to find a better pasta in Chicago.” That’s how this segment opens, and after watching chef Daario Mooney work his magic at Tortello, it’s hard to argue. This Chicago spot focuses on northern Italian-style pasta, a tradition Daario brought straight from Italy along with his grandfather’s advice: always focus on quality versus quantity.
What makes Tortello special starts before you even walk in the door. Daario makes all his fresh pasta right in the front window, where Guy noted it’s “fun when you walk by the street to all the kids with their nose up against the glass.” It’s dinner and a show, Italian-style.
Tortelli de Burata: Little Pillows of Heaven
If you’re going to a restaurant named after a pasta, you order that pasta. The tortelli de burata are, as Guy described them, “little packages with burata cheese inside drowned in butter.”
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The process is pure labor of love. Daario builds a flour well on the table, adds eggs, kneads the dough, then rests it for about 45 minutes to an hour. The filling combines salt, homemade butter (yes, Daario makes his own), ricotta from Europe, and burata shipped from Puglia every single week. When that creamy burata gets broken up, Guy admitted it “makes me cry a little bit.”
After sheeting the rested dough and cutting squares with a pasta knife, they pipe in the filling, fold the tortelli while pushing out the air, and drop them in salty boiling water. The finish? A slightly brown butter with sage, olive oil, fried sage leaves, hazelnuts for crunch, Parmigiano, and a few drops of balsamic at the end.
Guy’s verdict: “Less than 10 ingredients. That tastes like a million bucks.” He praised the pasta’s bite, the tang from the burata, the silky sage butter, and called the balsamic glaze “the pièce de résistance.”
Pappardelle all’Anatra: Duck Pasta Baked to Perfection
The second dish, pappardelle all’anatra, showcases Daario’s commitment to using every part of the ingredient. The duck gets cured overnight with fennel, porcini powder, sugar, red chili flakes, salt, and black pepper.
The pappardelle itself is cut by hand—rustic and wide. “That’s a big pappardelle,” Guy observed. The duck stock simmers for three hours with roasted duck bones, ground tomatoes, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. The cured duck gets seared to crisp the skin and render the fat, then that fat becomes the base for the sugo along with olive oil, celery, red onions, carrots, garlic, San Giovese wine (“a third of the bottle”), whole tomatoes, crushed tomato, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and sugar.
The kicker? Daario finishes the pasta Roman style with “a little crunch on the bottom” by baking it in the oven. Guy was blown away: “I forget about baking pasta off and letting it get that little crisp on top of it. This is very special.”
A guest named Michael, Guy’s buddy who lives in Chicago, tried it and declared it “one of the best pastas I’ve ever had.” Guy’s reaction? “He just stole the whole show.”
Tips from the Tortello Kitchen
Rest your pasta dough: Daario rests his for 45 minutes to an hour before sheeting. Let cut pasta dry slightly: This makes it more toothsome. Bake finished pasta: That Roman-style crisp on top elevates the entire dish. Use rendered fat: Don’t waste that duck fat—it becomes the foundation for your sauce.
If you love watching technique-driven Italian cooking like this, you might also enjoy seeing the creativity behind the Korean Mama Bagel or the hearty comfort of a Cowboy Junkie Burrito.
As Guy told Daario: “This is a cultural experience and a passport back to Italy.” Find more Triple D spots in our restaurant directory.
