Eataly is the new Italian slowfood mecca opened by Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and Lidia Bastianich on 5th avenue between 23rd and 24th street. Supposedly the second of two locales of this resto/marketplace, the first being in Turin, Italy, this was one of those built up fantastically fabulous restaurants. Eight figures later, did it deliver?
The answer to that question is NOT REALLY. It was crowded, loud, overpriced, a tourist trap, and most of all seemed like it was kitsch-a-fying a culture and its cuisine. Yes, it has a panini place, a fish and a meat counter, fresh pasta, pasteries, ice cream, espresso, cheese, cured meats, wine, beer, veggies, you name it, it was in this 50,000 square foot space. But as a foodie, was it a place that I would want to go back, not really.
I would have considered buying their homemade mozzarella that is made on location, but wait they were out of it at 1:30pm on a Saturday...
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