Eataly

Hey everyone! Kristin here. It’s nice to be chatting with you again!

Remember when my friend Emily and I visited Eataly, and I told you that Mom and I went back to explore beyond the Nutella bar? Well, that’s the adventure I’m going to share with you today.

Eataly…how do I describe Eataly? The home of the most food I’ve ever seen in my life? Foodie paradise? Italian heaven?

I guess a more accurate description of Eataly is that it’s two-floor emporium that houses 23 eateries and a fresh-food market. A project of Mario Batali’s, there’s a dessert bar, coffee shop, Nutella bar, gelateria, brewery, wine bar, bakery, pizzeria, butcher, cheese counter-you get the picture. Eataly has every type of Italian food or beverage you could dream of—plus a little more.

Mom and I were in heaven.

When you first step through the doors of Eataly, your senses skyrocket. There are so many sights, smells, sounds and, of course, tastes that you don’t know where to go first.

We eventually decided to head toward familiar territory: the sweets!

Do we even need to say anything about this photo?

I want one of everything!

We hit the Nutella bar next, and it is exactly what it sounds like: A place where every item on the menu features Nutella.

You can order croissants with a luscious, creamy layer of Nutella slathered on top. Or there’s the baked-to-order crêpes smeared with a generous layer of Nutella.

Mmmm.

To save us from ourselves, we turned away from the sweets and headed upstairs to see what other delights Eataly had in store for us.

One of the first things we noticed when we reached the second floor was all of the cheese.

Frankly, between the hundred-pound cheese wheels stacked along the walls and the aging cheese hanging from the ceiling, it was hard to miss! (stinky, in a good way if you know what I mean).

 

But wait. That doesn’t even include the blocks upon blocks of cheese cooling behind the counter!

And if you’re going to buy all this cheese, you’re going to want some wine. Just take a few steps to your left, and there’s a wine bar!

Oh, and don’t forget a few olives to complete your snack. There are at least a dozen or so to choose from.

Now that you have something in your stomach, you can shop for tonight’s dinner. And you wouldn’t have an Italian meal without pasta.

Pick a noodle, any noodle. They have it all from the packaged …

 

… to the fresh.

Now select some crunchy bread to go with your pasta.

You’ll want to top off that crusty bread with a new type of butter.

And heck, you might want to pick up a pizza too, just because it looks soooo goooood. (We did, and it was!)

It’s time for dessert! There’s the gelateria …

… or you can get a good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie. (They. Were. Huge.)

I think I gained a pound just thinking about all of this food.

Have you been to Eataly, either the Chicago or New York location? What did (or would) you buy? Let us know!