I wanted to check out Eataly as soon as I heard about it. The new Italian food hall opened up a few months ago on 200 th Fifth Avenue, across the street from Madison Square Park. Eataly is 36,500 square feet of retail markets, restaurants, wine shop, and even a microbrewery. Eataly has gotten serious buzz mostly due to the fact that it is the child of Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich. It's a very trendy place to eat and be seen. I was impressed by the scale of the place, it's a food mecca. You can buy raw ingredients, take a cooking class, buy house wares, sit at the espresso bar, pizza bar or gelato stand, eat at a causal restaurant or upscale steakhouse! Yesterday on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I went to see what all the fuss was about.
My first impression of Eataly was a feeling of a bit of anxiety, and being overwhelmed. It was packed! Eataly is a one large open floor plan that was mobbed by people. I had to dodge through the people to slowly make my way around to canvas the joint. Next time I'll have to come when it first opens (11am) or right before the close (11pm) to escape some of the madness. If anyone has ever been to Trader Joe's (Union Square) during rush hour you know what I'm taking about. Eataly has a lot of merchandise and food goodies. There’s a butcher, a fishmonger, a produce department, a bakery, a bread station, and the list goes on. I have no doubt that the food is of great quality and is delicious. Prices on the other hand are very expensive. At the pasta bar you can buy fresh ravioli for $12.00 a pound. Crab runs about $37.00 a pound and milk a mere $5.00 a quart. Yes, the food may be good but for that price, it better. In the back of my mind I could hear my Dad's voice, "You have to know your prices!"
As far as eating in Eataly, I didn't buy any ready made items so I can't say as to the taste or quality. Although, I was turned off by the restaurants. The open floor plan had the restaurants in the middle of the shopping area. It was loud, and there were tons of shoppers pushing each other past the rows of merchandise. The decor was plain and the lighting was fluorescent. It lacked ambiance. I might as well head downtown to one of Batali's other restaurants that are cozy and intimate. It's like eating at an Ikea. That's the kind of atmosphere I would compare it to.
I found that the produce area was more reasonably priced. The only caveat was that the sizes of the bunches of lettuce, arugula, or kale was 1/3 to 1/4th the size of a bunch I'd get at the farmer's market. One goodie I did pick up was zucchini blossoms. I was soo excited to find them! They came in packs of two wrapped in a plastic wrapper. I picked up two packs for a couple bucks. I've been looking for these suckers for weeks and this is the first time I've seen them. (Check out for a post on baked zucchini blossoms later on this week. )
The checkout line was very long, but moved quickly. Once I made my way out I checked out the wine store next door. I was disappointed in the small selection. I was happy to see some lower priced wines but most of the wines were serious cash. I spotted a $500 merlot! Most of the wines were in the $50 price range. My verdict - Eataly is fun place to walk around just try to avoid rush hour. Yes it's pricey but it's gourmet and high quality. I don't suggest you spend $6.00 on a small bottle of water but they have tons of imported can't find anywhere else type of items. Next time I'm going to make a stop at the pastry case, which looked to die for. I think many of the patrons were there just to be seen in the next trendy spot! I hope they flock to the next flip in the pan and leave some moving room for serious foodies.