Eataly

 

Something else very exciting happened this Wednesday, that I've been wanting to mention but haven't had time to because I actually got some PAID work which took priority (gasp)!  This was a copy-editing job that I thought would take three hours at most, but actually took ten.  On the bright side, the material was quite interesting, which was part of the reason it took so long (unfamiliar terminology, etc.)

Getting back to this Wednesday, on the advice of a friend I finally checked out Eataly, the new Italian Food emporium in the Toy Building at 200 Fifth Avenue across from Madison Square Park.  The only other time I've entered this building was for a wedding, probably about nine (?) years ago now.  I think the friend who got married there MIGHT be happy to hear that the place where she said her vows is now the most exciting Italian Food grocery store I've ever set foot in, because she really likes to eat (though she's the sort of meat-and-potatos eater who looks like she might live on edible flowers and dew).  

Because Eataly is run by the Batali-Bastianich Hospitality Group, I was expecting it to be really, really, high-end, well beyond the means of the ordinary New Yorker.  Actually, there is quite a mix of stuff there - from bags of pasta and jars of tomato sauce that are a few dollars each, to giant slabs of chocolate that if I'm remembering it right cost over $60.  I could have spent hours examining the huge range of Italian food products that they offer: (local!) meats, (not-so-local) vegetables, vinegars, oils, capers, cookies, juices, tablewares... and they also have several cafes and casual restaurants and... for a few minutes I decided that I would plan my whole life around Eataly, I would move to the Flatiron district, somehow, and buy all my groceries there, except for produce of course.  Would I get tired of buying only Italian groceries every day?  I'm not sure that I would... and besides, if I did, I would be closer to Sunrise Mart (above the St. Mark's Bookstore) if I felt like stocking up on Asian food staples, too.  And closer to the Union Square market.  

So as I walked through Eataly, oohing and aahing and caressing various groceries and enjoying a $2 cup of espresso, standing at the counter just like an Italian businessman (but without the handsome face or natty suit), I was not in the LEAST surprised to see that Martha Stewart herself was there, and the Eataly people were recording some sort of video of her and Mario Batali visiting all of the different food counters.  Wow, Martha Stewart!  Above is the bad picture I got of her, before I was told to put my camera away while they were filming!  I think my flash got into Martha Stewart's eyes and that she hates me now.  But that's o.k., I gather she hates a lot of people.  

Anyway I am going crazy (been indoors all day) and I need to get out, so apologies for this sloppily-written account of my first Eataly visit (which will hopefully be followed by many other visits).  For better pictures / descriptions of Eataly, try this article from the Huffington Post.

 

Comments

[Amanda]

I want to go! Sounds like a condensed, less gritty Arthur Ave.

[Awake]

waaay less gritty than Arthur Ave - but I think you will love it. If you play hooky from work one day, we can visit the pizza cafe first, then the gelato, then coffee... and look at groceries while we digest

[Awake]

...actually to clarify further: it is not the teeniest bit gritty at all!

[Your Old Married Friend, and its 8.5 years, not 9!]

WOW!!!! I had no idea that they were making the 200 Fifth Club into an Italian outpost. I actually went there about 2 or 3 years ago and they had totally renovated the place to a very art deco black and gold and silver event space....Of course I didn't like it as much as when we got married there! But this sounds fun! I will have to try to visit next time we are in NYC! I should also mention that I actually made my own gianduja gelato a few weeks ago (Hazelnut and chocolate flavor=Nutella! It was so delicious!) And I do love MS, hers is one of only two magazines that I subscribe to!

[Awake]

Old Married Friend, Eataly is VERY fun, I highly recommend that you check it out and I think Giselle would also really like the pizza there, you can sit and eat it at an informal seating area (she especially likes pizza I think?) I am quite impressed with myself that I was SO CLOSE to right re: your wedding date... and even more impressed with you about the ice cream, wow! Sounds really delicious, a friend gave me an ice cream maker as a gift a year ago, but I'm ashamed to say I haven't tried it yet...