Day 12, Pizza Month 2010 - Eataly (Flatiron district, NYC)

DAY 12: OCTOBER 12th, 2010

LOCATION: Eataly (Flatiron district, NYC)

ORDER: 1 slice of San Marzano (Margherita), 1 slice of Massese, 1 slice of Fiashetto

GUEST: Terry Jinn, Alexis Saarela, Robin Rothman

REVIEW:
Eataly, if you ever get a seat-aly.

Eataly is a portal to an Indoor European marketplace-- complete with crowds, noise, and tons of food. Still in its infancy, Mario Batali's brainchild is overwhelmingly popular. Tourists as well as New Yorkers flock to the centrally located mega food court all hours of the day. And, if the pizza served is any indicator, Eataly will only become more popular.

Non-English speaking Italian chefs make and bake each pie in two twin wood burning ovens the only way they know; brilliantly. Each personal sized pie is topped with high quality ingredients and charred to perfection before it is presented to the delighted patron. Copious amounts of imported Italian tomato sauce form a layer of savory goodness providing a perfect bed for which the creamy fresh mozzarella will sleep. Expect the toppings on the specialty pies, such as the Fiashetto and Massese, to be crafted to optimize flavor rather than layered. There is nothing standard or uniform about these creations. Eataly may just be as close to Italy permissable outside of the actual border.

The only drawback is the hype. Word is out and everyone in the city from foodie to fuddy-duddy has heard of Eataly. We waited for over an hour and a half while a camera crew from Lidia's Italy (a show on Food Network) was shoehorned in before us. I didn't mind waiting, since I'm a fan of the show, but there really is no place to wait. We had already spent 45 minutes (our initial wait time) hungrily scouring the Italian Super Market and just wanted to eat. So, we wedged ourselves in a small area between the bakery and the staff utility tunnel and waited patiently. Despite sincere apologies from the hostess and extremely polite server, no action was taken or effort was made to compensate us for our time. I only hope when I go back, and I will go back to Eataly, all guests will be treated equal-aly.

VIDEO CLIP:

RATING:
3.81 out of 5

• VALUE:
  2/5


• AMBIENCE:
  3/3


• TASTE:
  8/10


• SERVICE:
  3/3

16/21 = .? x 5 = 3.81

MISCELLANEOUS:
1. This marks the 8th merging of Terry Jinn's My Daily Beverage journal and my 31 Days of Pizza journal...Two journals that date back to 2002
2. I met Mario Batali.