garozzo's ristorante

★★★★(4 stars)

let me start by saying that this is a 5-star restaurant food-wise. it has been my favourite italian restaurant since i moved to kansas city. as an ovo-lacto vegetarian, i always found plenty to eat... and it is sooo good. authentic taste, great atmosphere, phenomenal food. but because i have to factor in the vegan-friendliness, i had to demote to four stars.

however, i will say that as a vegan, there isn't much choice. in fact, your only option is their salad. there a stuffed artichoke on the appetizer menu, which you could probably have them modify and just serve with olive oil, but i haven't attempted this yet. namely, because their house salad is ReAlLy good. pimentos, artichoke hearts, fresh romaine. and their dressing is just as tasty (be sure and ask for no parmesan in the dressing). and it's big. and it's $7, which is pretty decent for such a nice restaurant.

they have some great vegetarian options. i used to love the broccoli and mushrooms in a creamy red sauce. the husband always orders their white wine sauce and claims it is the best sauce ever. i try not get offended since i am italian and make some great sauce myself (so i think), but apparently mr. garozzo has one up on me. :)

anyways, it's a great date restaurant. the one in downtown kc is in the little italy district, which is in a pretty isolated part of town. the pictures here (sorry - camera phone) are from that visit. i've eaten at the one in overland park,which is just as tasty. we usually visit salvatore's in independence and sal is almost always there, greeting us and making sure our visit is spectacular. (*note - sal is the nephew of mike garozzo, but it is pretty much the same menu and just as yummy). so if you are vegan and go with the understanding you are having a salad, then this place will not disappoint.


ps- sorry for the sucky pics. it was really dark and all i had was a camera phone.

website:
garozzo's ristorante
salvatore's

locations:
kansas city, mo
lee's summit, mo
independence, mo (*called salvatore's)
olathe, ks
overland park, ks