This is turning up to be the preferred pasta shape of a number of noted chefs across the nation. For good reason: it is the right shape to work with most anything you put it with. It is very manageable to eat: forkable, easy to get into your mouth (don't laugh... some pasta shapes are beautiful but a pain to eat!), great looking in every dish I have used it in (most recently a NYT recipe for artichokes/pancetta/leeks w/this... awesome!), nice texture to get sauce to cling, and overall just wonderful artisan pasta flavor.
The cannolicchi has become a "go to", even starting to be a spoiler for my beloved "fusilli col bucci" by the same vendor. I for sure prefer the cannolicchi to penne just because I find it captures sauce the same way but is better eating (hey, that is just me) but will still go for short pasta shapes for pasta salads et al.
Highly recommend!