Eataly is Italy...

     This past month I had the opportunity to try "Eataly".  For those who don't know, Eataly is a 40,000 square foot Italian Market in the heart of Downtown Manhattan.  The place is absolutely filled to the brim with fresh pastas, vegetables, breads, meats, seafood and snacks.  It has 2 restaurants, a full Salumi bar and multiple snack bars.  It is the brainchild of Mario Battali & Joe and Lidia Bastianich and for a foodie like me it was absolute Nirvana : )  Had I brought a cooler with me to the city it would have been filled to the brim with anything and everything I could carry.  However, since I forgot my cooler that day I had to make do with whatever I could eat.  And eat I did. 
     After waiting about 45 minutes for a table at the restaurant section (the wait was made better by all of the amazing sights and smells contained in this building) we received a primo seat right in front of the kitchen where we got to witness the magic happen.  Our appetizer was a slab of fresh buffalo mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil served with a pile of fresh sea salt. Verdict: Delicious!  If it had been served with fresh tomatoes, I could have made my entire meal on that alone!

     As my main meal I decided on a Calzone filled with ricotta, mozzarella, prosciutto and fresh tomatoes.  My mom decided on the Pizza Margerita and my dad had a fresh pasta with a wild boar ragu.  Verdict on all the dishes: Unbelievable!    I could have eaten my calzone every day for the rest of my life and been entirely content (if not entirely fat!)  The crust on the pizza and calzone had to have been made fresh that day and coal fired in a blazing oven.  And everything put togethter made the meal absolutely delicious!

     Eataly to me is one of the coolest places I've ever been.  It could have been that I was extremely hungry or just really cold but when I entered I was just very happy.  Since then I've been recommending it to anyone I talk to!  So please, if you are in the NYC area anytime soon, be sure to stop by, it's sure to be an experience you won't soon forget!

Produce Department



Bakery

I don't even like Fish but I thought this was cool : )

Just a portion of all the pasta they had.

Fresh Seafood: I don't even think I can name some of the things in this picture!

I just thought this was a really cute sign : )

Thanks Mario for a great experience and a meal I won't soon forget!

Eataly NYC

200 5th Avenue

NY, NY 10010