When in New York City and you think of having Italian, the natural place to gravitate to would be Little Italy where you can search out an authentic Italian restaurant. However, an alternative would to pay a visit to Eataly, an Italian market, restaurant and food court all in one.
Eataly has two locations around New York City. For those who are in Downtown Manhattan, the most convenient one is located within the Westfield World Trade Center building. The other location is in the Flatiron district.
Known as Eataly Downtown, the location on the third floor of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan is huge and you can savor a wide range of Italian good around the store for an authentic Italian experience.
What’s at Eataly
Eataly is more than just a supermarket or a restaurant. Instead, it plays host to a whole range of Italian experiences. In addition to shopping and dining, it also hosts hands-on classes such as for those who are interested in learning how to make past or you can usually be able to find some tasting going on as well.
Shopping at Eataly
It is easy to get lost amongst the many different food and goods at Eataly.
Browsing through the shelves, you will find different types of pasta available, include brands that have been brought in from Italy. They also bring in seasonal good such as Panettone, traditional Italian Christmas bread. This makes it a good place to shop if you are looking for a gift to give someone during the holidays.
Some of the standout produce sections within Eataly are the cheese section where you can find burrata, ricotta and more.
Of course, Eataly is also a great place to shop if you are looking for produce to cook at home for a dinner or a party. You can shop at the butcher section which sells different cuts of meat to prepare for that special meal.
For that something special, you can purchase black and white all-natural truffle oils by Urbani, an acclaimed truffle purveyor, in addition to fresh truffles and truffle-based sauces.
Another standout feature of the marketplace shop at Eataly is that they offer an extensive selection of extra virgin olive oil. You can find more than 100 boutique, single-estate oils exclusively from Italy.
Dining at Eataly
When it comes to dining at Eataly, there are several choices available. These range from the sit down restaurants like La Piazza where you can get table service to more casual food counters where you can order and pick up food to enjoy at one of the dining area around the establishment.
There are three restaurants and nine takeaway counters within the 40,000 square feet store at Eataly Downtown.
Choose from a selection of pastas that get cooked only when you order them. Choose from the usual pasta types like spaghetti, ravioli, gnocchi and more.
Head over to the counter where ready made pizzas can be ordered. Be sure to get the staff behind the counter to heat up the pizza for you so that you can enjoy it hot! There are also sandwiches available if you are planning to grab a quick takeaway. The focaccia tartufo, made with Jambon ham, ricotta, truffle and saland, looked especially appetizing.
Once you have your food, you can find your way to one of the tables to sit down and have a meal.
For dessert, you can also choose from sweet treats such as gelato or pastries.
We order the cannoli. There are different flavors available and the cannoli shell is unfilled until you place an order. You can watch them pipe in the filling of your choice into the cannoli shell fresh.
However, when we had the cannoli at Eataly Downtown, the shell was not as crisp as we had hoped for it to be. Perhaps it had been out for too long on that particular day.
Events at Eataly
Eataly also hosts events that introduce Italian cooking to a wider audience. You choose to sign up for cooking classes that cover regional recipes, or attending wine events were wine experts will help to guide you through a tasting of different wines from both Italy and the United States.
There are also kids classes conducted at Eataly where children can sign up to learn how to cook using wholesome ingredients.
Final Thoughts on Eataly Downtown, New York City
Eataly is a great concept and it is fun to pay a visit to the store.
Eataly came about because of an idea back in November 2002 to gather high quality food at reasonable prices to make it accessible for anyone to be able to enjoy. It is meant to be a celebration of the diversity of Italian food and produce. The first Eataly outlet opened back in 2007 in Torio, Italy, and since then, they have expanded their footprint around the world, including to New York City.
If you are a foodie or are curious about produce from other countries, you will find it enjoyable to browse through the shelves and pause to have a look at the variety of groceries available.
The store can become extremely crowded, so be prepared to take your time rather than trying to run through the entire store.
It is a good place to get some Italian food in New York City and does pizza differently from the usual New York style pizza slice.
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