I haven’t been to Italy since the summer after I graduated high school (I’m not going to mention the year), but I have a very vivid recollection of my time there. It helps that I kept a psychotically detailed journal, too (complete with meal selections and hilarious commentary on my family’s travel shenanigans). Evidently I was a blogger (without a blog) long before the days of facebook and twitter. Anyway. I’m getting off topic.
Walking into Eataly was like entering a European marketplace.
Do you want to eat or do you want to shop? Or do you want to people watch? I did it all. But I mostly watched.
The entrance is chaos. It makes sense since that’s where the coffee and gelato are. And the fresh pastries. And chocolate. Come to think of it, why would you even bother heading in any further?
Fine wine perhaps? Canned goods and pickled preserves from overseas? Gourmet cheeses?
There’s a beautiful mix of items for sale, from fresh and local fare to expensive aged goods.
It’s hard to describe the scene. As you walk deeper into the thick of it, the grocery section leads into a variety of counters serving food.
They are separated by what they offer – meat, dairy, fish, bread, vegetables, beer, etc.
Here’s a list of the restaurants within Eataly:
Manzo
La Piazza
Il Pesce
Le Verdure
La Pizza & La Pasta
Birreria
Rosticceria
I Panini
Pasticceria
Gelateria
Caffe Lavazza
Caffe Vergnano
The restaurants’ schedules vary, but the market is open every day from 10am – 11pm.
It’s overwhelming and wonderful at the same time. I highly recommend you check it out.
Have you been to Italy?
I’ve been to Italy twice including stops in Rome (twice), Venice, and Sicily. LOVE LOVE LOVED it! Never been to Eataly though, it looks awesome!
What a great place! I haven’t been to Italy…maybe for our honeymoon? 🙂
I’ve passed the Butterfly Award to you…happy Wednesday! 🙂
aww thanks girl!
Just got back from the most amazing honeymoon to Italy–we hiked Cinque Terre, spent a couple nights in Florence, spent 5 nights in Chianti (found some great wineries and took day trips to Siena, San Gimignano, and Volterra), traveled to Venice for 2 nights and spent our last night in Milan. It was truly awesome!
I’m going to Italy in January! So excited, I’ve been wanting to visit forever. My labmates were talking about Eataly a few weeks ago, I’d never heard of it. Seems like a great place to people-watch! I still claim my best people-watching went down at La Plaza Mayor in Madrid. And Wal Mart.
Eataly was one of the highlights of my trip to NYC this summer – you could spend hours there!
On my last trip to NY I ended up at Eataly cause my friend was looking for bathroom… and what a surprise… This place is HUGE… and I wanted to buy everything. I ended up with a gelato cup while waiting for my friend and only the (10 mins wait) line up discouraged me to get a nice espresso from Lavazza! And… I’ve never been to Italy but I’d love to!
Ahhh I’m so jealous! I was supposed to visit rome last year with school, but I had to drop out because of health. Apparently ROme streets aren’t built for wheelchairs. I. WILL. GO. SOMEDAY.
I was in Italy March of 2010. It was lovely – I backpacked my way across the country and fell in love with the Italian pride, the fresh foods, and the language. Would go back in a heartbeat.
I’ve never been to Italy or Eataly. Both sound like great places! Italy is the first place in Europe I would want to visit given the opportunity.