Today Dishing: Eataly, Chicago

When Eataly Chicago opened we were deep into hibernation and it wasn't until this week that we finally made it to the 43 East Ohio location. Eataly Chicago, the second U.S. location under the ownership of the Lidia and Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali group as well as others, received enormous hype upon it's opening. We feared the hype might be overdone and leave us disappointed.

I would use many words to describe our maiden voyage  experience, but disappointed is not one of them. If you like food, like wine, like to learn about food and wine, then this is a must for you.
Upon arriving, we thought it best to do a quick walk through the second floor space before embarking on some serious shopping. After touring  all the aisles, we stopped at one of the many specialty counters, this one featuring charcuterie. Our knowledgeable server educated us about several wines we were interested in and offered us a taste of each. We ordered the Ferrari Sparkling white wine  to accompany our two hour old mozzarella and prosciutto board...... heaven!
             
                                                                              

Serious shopping then ensued. Just made pappardelle, rock shrimp, St. Simon's oysters, mozzarella, focaccia, calamari pasta, bread made on site, sauces and five bottles of wine later our shopping ended.

Famished by the shopping, we restored ourselves at La Pizza and La Pasta  eatery with Tagliatelle with short ribs along with a lovely Montepulciano D'Abruzzo.

Other eateries include La Carne (meat), La Focacceria (focaccia), Le Verdue (vegetables), Il Pesce (fish) La Birreria (beer) and La Piazza (cheese). If you don't find something you like among these choices, you don't like Italian food.

Cheese Glorious Cheese!

A sublime meat selection.

                                                                                            
You can pop in for a quick lunch or you can linger and make a half day field trip of this culinary walk through Italy. Validated parking is $10. (A bargain for downtown)

I urge you to go and go often.

Salute!