Italian Food Lover’s Dream – Ciao, Eataly Chicago!

Mario Batali’s Eataly opened on Monday and is basically Disneyland for foodies. Remember when Whole Foods opened up their store in Lincoln Park and you felt like you could spend hours in there? Well this feels like Whole Food times ten. Two levels full of all the groceries, wine, food, cookbooks and kitchenware you could ever want. Add to that a Nutella bar, wine bar, brew pub, eight restaurants and nine cafes and you can see how easy it is to feel like you could spend days inside this Italian wonderland.

Come along with me on my trip to Eataly –> https://videos.tastemade.com/v/kDP1RePwR0KTHT9XCQbnlQ

You are not going to see, do, eat, buy everything you want in one trip so look at Eataly as a multi trip destination. Each of the restaurants and cafes are categorized by the type of food it focuses on, bread, fish, meat etc. Here’s the restaurant round-up from their website:

On the 1st floor: Il Panino di Eataly, Il Gran Bar Lavazza, Nutella, Lait Gelateria Alpina, Il Gelato di Eataly, La Pasticceria di Luca Montersino, Baffo Ristorante Enoteca.

On the 2nd Floor: La Birreria, La Rosticceria, La Piazza with La Mozzarella, Il Crudo, I Salumi e Formaggi and Il Fritto, La Carne, La Pasta, La Pizza, Il Pesce, La Foccacceria, Le Verdure, Caffe Vergnano, Vino Libero and La Scuola.

Yes, there is a Nutella bar and you know that was my first stop. I mean I had to take a break and plan where I was going to actually eat and what I was going to buy for dinner…Oh, and eat a Panini…

There are numerous seating areas scattered throughout this massive complex so you can pause and take in the surroundings. You can also watch mozzarella being made, spy an actual olive tree and check out the craft ales being brewed in-house.

Come to Eataly to explore and get inspiration to take home to cook your next meal. Stay for a leisurely lunch over wine and cheese and be apart of one of the biggest things to hit the Near North Side in a long time.