RPM Steak Opening Party

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There are some plans I have to remind my husband of multiple times…attending the Opening Party for RPM Steak was not one of them. From the second we were invited, August 9th at 7pm was top of mind- I would imagine it had something to do with visions of steak and manhattans dancing in his head.

The new space at 60 W. Kinzie is beautiful. Huge and airy with the same sleekness RPM Italian has but toned down to highlight what’s clearly the star of the show: the steak. Chef Psaltis was on hand serving up quite the spread and while I first congratulated him on the gorgeous new restaurant, Ryan went back and congratulated him on the steak. He was wildly impressed with everything from the ribeye to the lamb chops to the skirt steak.

Me? Glass of champagne in hand, I was happy as could be…and then I made my way upstairs to what will be the private dining space and found lobster and oysters perched atop a bar made entirely of ice. Jack.pot.

Also to be noted: dessert. Mini lemon sorbet baked Alaska. Basil hazelnut cream puffs. Yes.

It was such a fun, almost interactive date night. We walked around, sampled the food, ran into some people we hadn’t seen in ages, caught up on our weeks. There’s no official opening date announced yet but a waiter told us that Bill Rancic (partial owner) told them 10 days so get ready to snag a reso- I know we can’t wait to try RPM Steak in full.

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The Return of the Milano’s

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When I was a kid, my family came to Chicago pretty often.  Being from the west side of the Mitten, only a few hours from the Chi, anytime we were in need of great food and some shopping, we hopped in the car.  Like clockwork, our first stop when we got into town was Papa Milano’s.  It was my family’s absolute favorite Italian restaurant on the planet.  Their red sauce was TDF (to-die-for), the gnocchi perfection and the hostess never failed to be wearing electric blue eye shadow.

One night, we asked the cab to take us the to corner of Oak and State in anticipation of some Papa Milano’s gloriousness and…nothing.  Papa Milano’s had closed.

To say my Dad was devastated is an understatement.  “How could they close Papa Milano’s?  It’s a Chicago institution!  And I want their house salad and I want it now!”.  He wrote the family, begging them to reopen, somewhere, anywhere.  When Barney’s and a Citibank went up on that corner…well, it was (almost) enough to make my dear old Dad swear off Chicago and Italian food forever.

I follow Penny Pollack, Chicago Mag’s dining editor, on Twitter and last night, she tweeted the tweet of all tweets: “The Family Behind Papa Milano’s returns with Mama Milano’s“.  Come this May, a pizza bar called Mama Milano’s will be open at 1419 North Wells!

A pizza bar!  In Old Town!  Giuseppe Pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, salami and olives) for everyone!

It turns out that people other than my family have been missing the Milano magic in Chicago.   Something tells me that my Dad is going to be visiting me a lot come May…