Last Friday night was definitely what I’d call a top 10 kind of night. My friend Dawn, who is truly one of the best people I know, was in town from Chicago for a wedding and so we were able to get together.

Dawn asked if we could check out Eataly and I happily agreed because I always enjoy Eataly whenever I visit. There are several restaurants inside the market and I was even more excited when Dawn asked if we could try LeVerdure, the vegetarian restaurant!

As you know, I’m a big believer in incorporating vegetarian meals in to your diet for both health and environmental reasons, but I never ever dine at exclusively vegetarian restaurants because the menus are pretty much always filled with the things I’m most allergic to. It makes sense since vegetarians get much of their protein from nuts and beans, but it doesn’t make sense for me to put myself at risk by eating at a place that’s not safe for me. Le Verdure, however, is pretty straight forward Italian food that just happens to be meatless.

The evening was fabulous. The prosseco, the food and the company really could not be beat and Dawn and I, both omnivores to our core, left very full and very very happy.

We split the fritto misto, fried vegetables, start. My favorite was the fried cauliflower.

For my main course I had these unbelievable semolina dumplings with bubbly cheese on top over mushroom ragout. So indulgent.

This was Dawn’s main course. I can’t for the life of me remember what it was, but she said it was delicious.