Italy is Eataly!
That is one of the many slogans at Eataly, New York, the 50,000 square-foot Italian marketplace in the Flatiron district. It certainly is a food lover’s paradise.
The first time I went to Eataly, I sent a text to my brother (who’s always wanted a grocery/restaurant type of place) saying,
“you know that thing you’ve always wanted to do? Well, they’re doing it with Italian food in NYC… a supermarket with restaurants and it’s awesome”

Eataly opened in New York in 2010, a few years after its first location opened in Turin, Italy – it’s a food emporium or ‘foodtropolis’, if you will, where you can get groceries, have drinks or desserts, grab a quick bite or sit down to a proper lunch or dinner.
Our hotel on our last trip to New York was just a few blocks from Eataly, so I sort of went there a lot this time, I had dinner there twice, coffee every morning and stocked up on Italian cookies, tote bags and the black rice from Novara I wanted to try.

Verdure all Piastra – Warm vegetables and farro Salad in a Nebbiolo vinaigrette (Vegan)

The market carries everything from unique fresh produce (there’s even a vegetable butcher!) to wines from some of the best Italian vineyards.
The restaurants/eateries vary from a formal-dining restaurant that celebrates meat to a vegetables-only restaurant. And let’s not forget… a rooftop beer garden!
And then there’s the newly opened culinary school with classes created by Chef Lidia Bastianich.

I like Eataly, I like that it’s committed to the Slow Food movement (more so in Turin).
I like the layout, concept and execution, and the food here is wonderful and varied.
Their farro and warm vegetables salad is amazing – it’s so fresh and rustic, it tastes homemade.

I should mention that Eataly feels a bit chaotic on the onset, it’s slightly cramped and overcrowded (with people) but that kind of adds to the charm and open-market ambiance, since markets are usually crowded and busy.

Eataly New York
200 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10010
(212) 229-2560