About a year ago, Eataly opened a shop right off Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The original location is in NYC where the owners, Mario Batali and Joe & Lidia Bastianich, deliver an Italian experience I've not had before now. Part eating hall part Italian market, Eataly Chicago spans two floors and 13 dining experiences. I say experiences because each 'station' centers on a type of Italian food, from fish to beef, cheese to Nutella, and has a variety of table options from informal standing high tops to sit down with waitress service. You are meant to wonder and sample to your hearts content.
It's easy to be overwhelmed by the variety offered here. Think of packing an entire Italian culinary vacation into one two story space and you get the idea. The selection of meat and cheeses may be the largest I've seen in one spot. An entire section of several aisles is devoted to every possible shape and size of pasta you can imagine. In addition to the dried pasta, there's a fresh case with house made pasta such as squid ink fettuccine and fresh lasagna sheets. Dinner gets quite a head start just walking in the door.
Since we have no place to store anything on our fast trip, we chose to sample a couple of the dining options. The largest and most popular station is the sit-down pizza and pasta restaurant. I had the best mozzarella I've ever tasted here as an appetizer. It's almost worth the plane ticket just for this one dish! We shared the pasta of the day which was a light ravioli in a pesto sauce with bread crumbs and lemon zest. Fantastico! I'm kicking myself for not indulging in a pizza but this will have to wait for a return trip.
A focaccia bar offers various toppings on their light, airy focaccia. We had a simple tomato and mozzarella slice which was anything but plain. The tomatoes burst with flavor in my mouth and the in-house made mozzarella made an appearance as a nicely melted topping. A word about fresh mozzarella. If you've only experienced the shredded Kraft variety, you are in for quite a treat when you experience the real, fresh made mozzarella which is creamy and soulful. Topped with a little olive oil and sea salt, this taste of heaven could serve as a lite meal.
I would highly recommend bringing an extra suitcase and planning a half-day stop at Eataly next time you find yourself in Chicago (or NYC). You won't regret it!
It's easy to be overwhelmed by the variety offered here. Think of packing an entire Italian culinary vacation into one two story space and you get the idea. The selection of meat and cheeses may be the largest I've seen in one spot. An entire section of several aisles is devoted to every possible shape and size of pasta you can imagine. In addition to the dried pasta, there's a fresh case with house made pasta such as squid ink fettuccine and fresh lasagna sheets. Dinner gets quite a head start just walking in the door.
Since we have no place to store anything on our fast trip, we chose to sample a couple of the dining options. The largest and most popular station is the sit-down pizza and pasta restaurant. I had the best mozzarella I've ever tasted here as an appetizer. It's almost worth the plane ticket just for this one dish! We shared the pasta of the day which was a light ravioli in a pesto sauce with bread crumbs and lemon zest. Fantastico! I'm kicking myself for not indulging in a pizza but this will have to wait for a return trip.
A focaccia bar offers various toppings on their light, airy focaccia. We had a simple tomato and mozzarella slice which was anything but plain. The tomatoes burst with flavor in my mouth and the in-house made mozzarella made an appearance as a nicely melted topping. A word about fresh mozzarella. If you've only experienced the shredded Kraft variety, you are in for quite a treat when you experience the real, fresh made mozzarella which is creamy and soulful. Topped with a little olive oil and sea salt, this taste of heaven could serve as a lite meal.
I would highly recommend bringing an extra suitcase and planning a half-day stop at Eataly next time you find yourself in Chicago (or NYC). You won't regret it!
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