I stared gobsmacked at the endless Tuscan universe in the middle of Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Two stories accommodating 63,000 square feet of all things delizioso when it comes to Italian cuisine created sensory overload reminiscent of my last trek through Ikea.
Chicago's Eataly was dedicted to Oak Park, IL native Ernest Hemingway, who loved Italy.
Mamma Mia! The place was magnifico!
Really, where else can you peruse over 100 different kinds of olive oil with prices and bloodlines to boot? Hint, hint – boot!
Prices ranged from $5 a bottle to $55 a bottle.
That’s right; Italy/Eataly! The clever play on words wasn’t lost on this local Midwestern yokel.
Eataly has locations worldwide: 2 in the States, 11 in Japan, 16 in Italy, 1 in Istanbul, and 1 in Dubai.
Eataly offers 10,000 distinctively Italian products. Fantastico! Many of those products come with authentic Italian labels.
Mamma Mia! There were oodles of noodles available.
Kind of makes reading the cooking instructions a bit more of a challenge, but hey, when in doubt, go for ‘al dente’.
The place was beautiful, although making sense of the plethora of Italian products available wasn't always easy; the staff wasn't rude, but they didn't seem in any hurry to help, either. The second floor was designed to create the ambience of an Italian square, a place where friends and family might gather for a quick bite and a glass of wine, and of course, conversation, before taking care of some quick errands in the surrounding markets.
The place was beautiful, although making sense of the plethora of Italian products available wasn't always easy; the staff wasn't rude, but they didn't seem in any hurry to help, either. The second floor was designed to create the ambience of an Italian square, a place where friends and family might gather for a quick bite and a glass of wine, and of course, conversation, before taking care of some quick errands in the surrounding markets.
Standing room only is pretty much the norm at the popular La Piazza eatery.
In fact, we did a bit of gathering and chit-chatting with good friends Alan and Diane before wandering the marketplace, although we opted for the sit-down variety in one of the 23 eateries (restaurants, bars, and food stands) available.
Authentic Italian food is obviously another good reason to visit Eataly, although our culinary experience did not come cheap. It was nonetheless perfecto!
Cha ching!
Authentic Italian food always demands a good bottle or two of Italian wine (to encourage conversation, right?! As if I need encouragement!). We chose a dry red wine from the coastal hills of southern Tuscany, Italy’s most enduringly famous wine region thanks to the rolling hills around the medieval village of Scansano. It, too, was a bit over priced.
2012 - a very good year.
Wine connoisseurs might like the Vino Libero, Eataly’s Enoteca and Aperitivo Bar, where vino from Italy’s 4 distinctly different areas encompassing 20 unique regions is the main attraction courtesy of 13 Italian producers that are part of the “Vino Libero” Association. Cheers to the noble grape!
We headed out to walk off the lethargy of too much good food and see the world according to Italian entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti (all 21 departments), the brainchild behind Eataly.
We headed out to walk off the lethargy of too much good food and see the world according to Italian entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti (all 21 departments), the brainchild behind Eataly.
Not exactly Italy’s Tuscan hillsides and medieval villages, but then again, Eataly was really just another new-age marketplace where shopping and dining are now part of the experience. The experience came with the usual butcher,
Next time, gotta try the prime rib sandwich.
baker,
I'll take one of each, please.
and candlestick maker
Actually, this was a juicer for a mere $102.
(oops, no candlestick maker, and no candles, but I did find a slew of gourmet gadgets in housewares, along with gourmet prices.
I found people cutting the cheese (and salami) in the Salumi Formaggi department;
and a fella who was up to his elbows making mozzarella.
Say cheese!
There was even a real live fish monger casting a wide net on the ocean’s bounty,
Looks fishy to me.
and a rather small produce department. Most of the produce was actually grown locally, but I bet the woven baskets were Italian.
A staple of the Mediterranean diet, the roma tomato is well suited for making sauces.
There was even a small library in one cozy corner of Eataly, undoubtedly a nod to the Eat-Shop-Learn all-things-Italian mantra. Wish I lived in the city! Actually, I wish I lived in Italy!
Great sunny spot to curl up and read a book.
There was a Nutella Bar on the first floor, something you don’t usually see at a grocery, oops, I mean “market”. Who knew Nutella was an Italian product? The place was packed, as was most of Eataly by the time we'd finished our lunch. The crowds made navigating the market a challenge on top of the confusion generated by all the Italian labels. I was feeling quite the tourist in a foreign land.
You can thank Italian baker Pietro Ferrero for this chocolatey hazelnut spread.
We rounded out our Eataly visit with at least $20 in purchases (only way to offset the high price of parking for this Chicago destination), including a gelato from, you guessed it, the Gelato Bar.
The more food I ate, the greater the Italian experience.
The Bottom Line on Chicago's Eataly:
Verdict: If Italy isn't in your travel plans yet, try visiting Chicago's Eataly for a taste of Mediterranean; it's the next best thing to the real deal. The only other Eataly in the States is in New York City.
If cooking is your thing, you'll love Eataly. Maybe you'll know what type of olive oil or tomato paste or pasta to buy, too. Ask for help decifering the labels. We saw plenty of staff, but few seemed willing to make the first move when it came to assisting the customer. Cooking classes are available for those really serious about Italian cuisine.
How to Get There: From Chicago's Loop, take Lower Wacker Drive north to Lower Michigan Avenue. Turn left onto Lower Michigan Avenue. Take Michigan Avenue to East Grand Avenue; turn left. Follow East Grant to North Wabash; turn right onto North Wabash, then take the first right onto East Ohio Street. Destination will be on the right, at 43 East Ohio Street.
Insider Information: Don't do as I do (we visited on a Saturday); do as I say. I'd recommend arriving mid-morning on a weekday when Chicago's worker bees (the ones looking for a cappuccino before heading to the office) will have cleared out.
Be sure to pick up a map from guest services on the first floor and leisurely make your way around Eataly at least once or twice to get the lay of the land. Parking, just west of Eataly, will run you $20 for four hours, although you can cut that expense in half with a $20 purchase at Eataly; not much of a challenge given their hefty prices.
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