RPM Italian: A Petit Feast

My boyfriend came to Chicago this weekend, which means three things: restaurants, museums, and restaurants.

After spending a full day at the Art Institute of Chicago, checking out some of the classic works of Monet, Degas, and some really weird modern "art," we were starving, and made our way downtown to grab a bite to eat.

With no reservations, we decided to see what the wait would be like at RPM Italian, celebrity TV personality Giuliana Rancic and entrepreneur husband, Bill Rancic's chic River North restaurant. I had been there once before with my mom over the summer, and was impressed. Since it was early, we decided to see if we could get a table. And with luck, we did.

Swordfish spiedini was
delicious!

Although it can take forever to get a reservation at RPM, the whole bar side of the restaurant is open seating. Come early, and you'll have no problem grabbing a seat. Service, as with any Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, is always stellar, and the food, once again, was impressive.

We began the evening with the appetizer special, swordfish spiedini. Two adorable skewers (that were actually rosemary stems) held thinly sliced pieces of swordfish that were grilled, and topped with an herb and olive oil sauce, and served alongside a delicious yogurt dipping sauce. The flavor of the swordfish really stole the show, as all of the herb flavors were very subtle, but with such a good piece of fish, it was wonderful to taste the actual flavors of the meat, rather than having them masked. Last time I dined at RPM, we had swordfish carpaccio. Twice in a row, I was not disappointed with a swordfish appetizer dish.

For our second course, we ordered the zucchini fritti, which were very, very thinly sliced pieces of zucchini with a light breading, served with an herb greek yogurt dipping sauce.

With a lemon served alongside it all, we gave it a good squeeze over top of the zucchini, and dug in. Although I would not say that there was anything remarkable about this dish (you get exactly what it sounds like), the lightness of the batter made this a great, fun little snack to pop in your mouth.

We then chose to share a pasta dish. Picking the Short Rib Pansotti with taleggio crema and peccorino, I was thrilled with our choice.

Although most people have qualms with the small size of the pasta dishes at RPM Italian, I find the actually normal portion sizes to be extremely refreshing. The plate had these cute little mini pies of pasta, covered in a drizzle of the garlicky, cheesy cream sauce.

The best way I can describe the Pansotti were little mini pasta meat pies, filled with incredibly flavorful short rib meat. It was such a warm dish, and rather heavy, but on a cold wintry day, it definitely hit the spot.

The Short Rib Pansotti was a wonderful
little dish. I would definitely consider
ordering this again.

I'm often ambivalent about ordering pasta dishes out, but at RPM I'll make an exception. You can tell that the pasta is handmade, and the sauces have been unparalleled. Sometimes, pasta dishes can just taste like a bowl of a singular flavor and texture, but RPM succeeds in making it dynamic.

We had a lovely meal there, and did not overeat. It was just the right about of food, and the perfect atmosphere. A great way to conclude our day.

RPM has not disappointed me, and I am sure I'll be back again. I can't resist.