rpm italian.

i'm not afraid to admit that i am a huge giuliana & bill fan. super cute chicagoans (yes, giuliana is a definite chicagoan now) who bring only the good to our fair city? yes, please. not to mention that they are actually hilarious together. love.

anyway, when news spread that they would be opening an italian joint inspired by some of mama depandi's recipes (giuliana's mother and breakout star of giuliana & bill), i knew it'd be a must try spot for this summer. (and lucky for me, it fits right in with my absolute obsession with italian food.)

and thus, rpm italian was born. (way to go : bill, giuliana + leye!)

pretty much every aspect (save one, more on that later) of rpm is fantastic. the menu perfect for sharing (i.e. : order lots of little dishes ... another italian style tapas type of situation) & they've got tons of vegan options ... aaand they're very willing to accommodate. they offered to make vegan eggplant parmesan (sans parmesan), but i went with a few different options. here's what i had ...

roman style artichokes :

crunchy, salty, delicious.

the leaves tasted like little chips made from artichoke. just super.

tuscan kale & heirloom spinach salad.

no cheese.

also quite tasty. 

i added some salt & the crushed red pepper & dried herb blend that came with my friends' pizette.

you know how much i looove kale, so this was an obvious choice. you might also notice that this looks like a half portion ... that's because i dove right in before taking my photo. oops.

mama depandi's pomodoro :

strozzapreti pasta (in place of bucatini).

since i am such a big guiliana & bill fan, i just had try mama depandi's pomodoro.

and let me say, mama depandi does not disappoint. it was sooo good. the flavor was just incredible. and while i appreciate the smaller portion size, i could have easily eaten more. really, that good.

the only thing one (not me) might complain about is that none of their desserts are vegan. not even the sortbetto (maybe egg whites?) ... but that's okay. you can certainly eat enough at dinner so you don't need dessert. that's what we did.

rpm italian is definitely on the hot list of chicago restaurants. so it may take time to get a reservation (we made ours three months ago to get a prime spot at 8pm on a sunday!) ... but it's definitely worth the wait.