RPM: The best meal I've had since 2007.

Though I've been really advocating our GMO-free, organic lifestyle, I also believe in treating yourself on occasion (like Chicago's restaurant week). Depriving yourself is a sure fire way to go crazy and binge, so when we go out for a special occasion, I order what I want and just enjoy myself. And last night, I REALLY enjoyed myself. Like, the best meal I've had probably in 7 years (when I was in Italy).

Sean and I went to RPM Italian (Bill & Giuliana Rancic's restaurant) and it was AMAZING. The atmosphere was lively and fun, the waitstaff was beautiful and friendly, and the food was out of this world. 

We each got an appetizer - fresh, homemade ricotta with crusty semolina bread and zucchini fritte. The ricotta was perfection. Creamy, rich, flavorful, covered in herbs, served with big chunks of crusty bread and tomato sauce for dipping. It was fabulous. The zucchini was okay - cut super thin and flash fried with a tempura batter - but it paled in comparison to the ricotta. 

For our meals, I got carbonara and Sean got lobster ravioli.  I don't eat lobster, so I didn't try Sean's dish, but mine was incredible. It came out with a raw egg yolk that a server hand tossed into the pasta at the table. The pancetta was super crisp and peppery, which really helped cut through the creamy sauce. Though they say they have small plates, but this dish was heavy enough for me to have leftovers.

We finished the meal off with dessert. Now, I'm not much of a sweets person, but this was the best dessert I have had in my entire life. This picture say it all: 

That is fried dough, rolled in sugar, served with mascarpone cheese and nutella. MASCARPONE AND NUTELLA, people. I died and went to heaven. (In the background is Sean's coffee gelato, which he said was good, but I was too busy licking mascarpone out of the dish to care).

Seriously, this was probably the best Italian food I have had since I was in Rome all those years ago. I will dream about this meal. I will remember it fondly whilst working out today. Yes, I splurged, and it was worth every bite!