Day Five of the 5 - Day Tour of Eataly

Welcome back again foodies! Today is the fifth and last day of the the 5 - day tour of Eataly. Today I want to tell everyone about the geniuses who created  and run Eataly.

                                                        Day 5

The first of five amazing people who owns and created Eataly is Mario Batali. As one of America's super star top chef, Mario has written eight cookbooks, has appeared on shows and hosts shows such as Molto Mario, Iron Chef America and has made guest appearences on shows like Emeril Live, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and Foodography. Mario also owns fifteen restaurants with his partner Joe Bastianich. Also Mario has recently began his own charity called the Mario Batali Foundation.

Mario's eight cookbooks are Molto Gusto (based on his NYC restaurant Otto and also his most recent book), Spain...A Culinary Road Trip (based on his television show Spain...On The Road Again), Italian Grill (Batali's love for grilling and passion for for Italian cuisine combined in one book), Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style (after being inspired by Nascar, Batali wrote a book on Nascar tailgating), Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home (some of Mario's favorite recipe's in one book), Babbo Cookbook (based on his NYC restaurant Babbo), Mario Batali Holiday Food (Mario's holiday recipes), Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages (Batali's first book combing his American and Italian cuisine).
 Mario Batali's restaurants are absolutely delicious. Mario I think always has the best pasta at any restaurant of his I have been to. I especially love Otto's pasta dishes and Manzo's pasta dishes were spectacular too. If you ever want to learn more about Mario Batali to check out his site, mariobatali.com .

Another spectacular chef that is a part-owner of Eataly is Lidia Bastianich. Lidia is an award winning cookbook author, is a restaurateur and arguably one of the best loved chefs on television. Lidia's current restaurants are Del Posto, Esca, Felidia, Becco, Lidia's Pittsburgh, Lidia's Kansas City. Also her cookbooks are La Cucina di Lidia,Lidia's Family Table,Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen,Lidia's Italian Table,Lidia's Italy, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy. Within Eataly is a cooking school called La Scuola. The dean of La Scuola is Lidia. Lidia has designed six different types of classes for La Scuola.
The six classes are:
Parlare E Mangiare All'Italiana
An ultimate culinary experience in a four class series. Great instructors teach not only how to eat Italian but also how to speak Italian. This class takes you through breakfast, lunch, Italy's version of happy hour, and dinner.
Farm to Chef
(No classes until spring time) Featuring the freshest ingredients designed into a three course meal.
Chef's Kitchen
Guest chefs work right in front of you showing unique techniques. The best wines will also be pared with the tastings.
Chef's Table
Guest chef's prepare a three course meal paired with wine.
Aperitivo  
A nightly celebration with wine and beer paired perfectly with anti pasta.
Spotlight on Artisinal Products
Producers walk you through there products and telling you the stories and the steps behind them.

To check out more about La Scuola check out eatalyny.com/learn

 

The third partner of Eataly is Joe Bastianich who is one of the judges is on Gordon Ramsay's version of Master Chef. Joe is also Mario Batali's business partner and the son of Lidia Bastianich. Joe is a master on wine as well. Joe studied finance and spent a short time on Wall St. but than went to Italy and studied the food and wine closely.  When Joe returned he opened Becco with his mother. He than eventually opened Babbo with his business partner Mario Batali. Joe has won multiple James Beard as well.

The actual founder and creator of the original Eataly in Italy, is Oscar Farinetti. He also is a partner of Eataly. Oscar opened the first Eataly in Turin, Italy in 2007.



The last partner of Eataly is Slow Food. Slow Food makes sure all the producers maintain the same quality no matter the demand.


So that concludes the 5 - day tour of Eataly. I hope everyone found this useful and feel free to leave a comment. I absolutely recommend to go to Eataly.  Just writing about this makes me want to go back.

-Mike

Day Four of the 5 - Day Tour of Eataly

Hi foodies! Today is the fourth day of the 5 - day tour of Eataly and today I want to discuss my favorite part of any meal. Dessert! Eataly has a bunch of different stands that are all called Eataly's Dolci.

 

Day 4

                                                          

The areas apart of Eataly's Dolci is Caffe Lavazza, Pasticceria, Venchi Cioccolato, and Gelateria. I loved all of these places but I never had a chance to eat at Caffe Lavazza. So first I want to mention Pasticceria which is just a pastry stand. The pastry chef who designed these desserts is Luca Montersino. I tried this pannacotta that was so good. There were a lot of different desserts that all looked so delicious.
Next I have to tell you all about Venchi Cioccolato. This chocolate place had the BEST chili chocolate ever. Nothing compares to this delectable little mouthful of heaven. Also they had this faucet in which melted chocolate poured out of it all day. This thick and delicious melted chocolate also had creamy hazelnut in it. It cost a dollar for a cupful of this and your set. You could sit down for hours eating that with a spoon just starring into space letting the flavors dance on your tongue. And now besides these two things they also sell this candied chestnut that was good but a little too sweet for me.
Now the gelato counter called Gelateria had the absolute best chocolate gelato I have ever had. I also really liked was vanilla pear. I also have had some other flavors and this is my order of favorite flavors from favorite to least favorite: Strawberry, Lemon, Straciatella (vanilla with chocolate shreds), Sweet Cream, Peach Amaretto, Pistachio, Hazelnut, Green Apple. Anyway this gelato is really good and there is an entrance on 5th street (200 5th Ave.) that leads right to the gelato.

I loved all of the desserts at Eataly and I highly recommend to go to Venchi Cioccolato and Gelateria. So since this is the end of day four of the 5 - day tour of Eataly that means tomorrow is the last day. Also feel free to leave a comment if you have been to Eataly or want to go to Eataly or liked the blog or for any other reason.

-Mike

Day Three of the 5 - Day Tour of Eataly

Hello foodies! Today is the third day of the 5 - day tour of Eataly which means today I am going to talk about the market at Eataly and the other grab and go restaurants all around Eataly. I want to start out by wishing everyone who celebrates a happy Hanukah.

Day 3

I want to start out with the market. The staff walking around Eataly were all super helpful and very knowledgeable. Also there were a ton signs explaining the products. They were very helpful and taught you some things about the products. Also everything they sold were clearly labeled and well organized. The whole place was split up in sections. I would say there were ten sections which were fresh produce, housewares, beer, cookbooks,  fresh pasta, dry pasta, olive oil vinegar & more, dairy, biscotti, honey jam & confectionery.

So starting from the entrance on 23rd street, was the fresh produce. The fresh produce has your typical fruits plus more. They had Buddha hand, pomelo, key limes, meyer lemons and more. They also had a great selection of apples and your other regular fruits and vegetables.
Next up, housewares. At the housewares section they had lots of different bowls and utensils. There was a decent selection with some cool things.
Now onto beer. The beer section had a lot of beers that are unusual and different. There were a lot of Italian beers of course.
Right next to the beer section is the cookbook section. It is like a mini book store with lots of books not just recipes but also books that teach about different foods.
Adjacent to the cookbooks was the fresh pasta. The fresh pasta area was making pasta right there in font of you. Also they sell white and black truffles. The person who was selling them knew a ton about truffles and really informed you about the use of the truffle and what it really is.
Back towards the corner is the dry pasta. The dry pasta area had tons and tons of different brands and types of pasta. They had a large selection of pasta and they also were selling canned tomato sauce there too.
Past the pasta is the olive oil, vinegar & more. They have a wide selection of oils and vinegars plus lots of different spices. Next to this section is La Scuola which is a small cooking school. The dean of this school is Lidia Bastianich. I will talk more about that on Friday.
Towards the other side of Eataly there is the dairy section. The dairy section includes lots of different cheeses like burrata which is a mozzerella with a sweet string like cheese on the inside.
Also on that side of Eataly is the biscotti section with a large array of cookies. They had a various amount of flavors and shapes of biscotti.
The last section was the honey, jam & confectionery. There were some wild selections of honey and interesting jam flavors. There was also a lot of chocolate.

  Now besides the market there were some restaurants that were first come first serve that were really good. Those restaurants are La Piazza, Le Verdure, Il Pesce, and La Pizza & Pasta. I only visited Il Pesce (Executive Chef - David Pasternack) and it was really good. I really enjoyed the calamari. Il Pesce is a fish restaurant. La Piazza is a standing table restaurant that serves salumi and formaggia. Le Verdure is a vegetable restaurant. La Pizza & Pasta is a pizza and pasta restaurant.
Along with the restaurants there are other food areas like the bakery that is so good. My favorite bread is the olive bread, the raiso bread, and the corn bread. Then there was the butcher that sold a ton of different meats from largo to lamb chops.  And after that is the rotecceria that sell the cobb cobb chicken. On the other side of Eataly you will find the Paninoteca which sells sandwiches and panini's. I got a really good panini with prosciutto and provolone.

And that concludes the third day of the 5 - day tour of Eataly. I can't wait for tomorrow to talk about the sweets at Eataly called Eataly's Dolci. And also to anyone who celebrates, happy Hanukah.

-Mike

Day Two of the 5 - Day Tour of Eataly

Welcome back foodies! Today is the second day of the 5 - day tour of Eataly and that means it is time to review Manzo, the only fine dining restaurant in Eataly. If you are going to eat at Manzo (which you have to) then you need reservations.  I learned the hard way because when I got there Manzo was completely booked.  I lucked out because I was able to get a seat at the bar. To make reservations call 212-229-2180. The restaurant is owned by Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich (two of the owners of Eataly as well). The food was spectacular and just like any other review on Foodie Finders NYC, it will go on the restaurant review page.

Day 2

    Manzo                   200 5th Avenue, New York, NY, 10010

Fresh. Clean. Delicious. All great words to describe this restaurant masterpiece. Manzo, found within Eatlay, has good food and good service. The Tajarin Al Sugo D' Arrosto was absolutley delicious. It was a pasta dish with tons of meat and it looked like a ragu but was even better. Really all of the pasta dishes were spectacular especially the risotto. The risotto was in a butternut squash sauce that was to die for with black truffle shavings on top. Manzo was a typically excellent Batali, Bastianich restaurant with scrumptious and irresistible food.
  

 

 So that's the end of day two for the 5 - day tour of Eataly. Check back tomorrow for lots of things about the market and all the other first come first serve restaurants.

-Mike






  

Day One of the 5 - Day Tour of Eataly

Hi foodies! As you all may know today is the first day of the 5-day tour of Eataly on Foodie Finders NYC. Today I want to tell everyone about the overview of Eataly and what I think about it. I hope you find this useful.

 Day 1

So Eataly, in my opinion, was spectacular. It was like food heaven. First of all, if you are going to Eataly, it is a day trip. You could just run in, but if it is your first time you got to do a day trip because there is just so much to do. The have a market with the regular fruit but also have fruits that might never heard of. The market has so many other things but that is for Wednesday. Anyway the market (opened everyday 10am to 11pm) is a great place to shop for food with stuff imported from Italy and stuff locally found here in New York. Eataly's sweet shops, or as they say Eataly's Dolci, consist of a coffee bar called Caffe Lavazza, a pastry counter called Pasticceria (Pastry Chef - Luca Montersino), a chocolate counter called Venchi Cioccolato, and a gelato area called Gelateria. Venchi Cioccolato was amazing as well as the Gelateria. Other food that you could buy that is more on the savory side are the panini shop called Paninoteca, the rotisserie counter called Rotisseria, the bakery called Focaccia, and the pizza and pasta counter called La Pizza & Pasta To Go. The restaurants at Eataly are La Piazza, Il Pesce (fish), Le Verdure (vegetables), La Pizza & Pasta, and Manzo. Manzo is the only fine dining restaurant in Eataly and it is absolutely delicious. Also at Eataly is La Scuola which is a cooking school in Eataly run by Lidia Bastianich. I will go into more detail about La Scuola on Friday.
Anyway Eataly seams to be very environmentally friendly. The shopping carts are made of completely recycled plastic bottles. The basket is made of 25 plastic bottles and the cart itself is made out of 73 plastic bottles. The bathrooms are also very green because the toilets have two different flushers, one for solids and the other for liquids. I really like that Eataly is very environmentally friendly. It really shows the thought that went into the making of Eataly.

 So that wraps up the first day of the 5 - day tour of Eataly. I hope you guys check back for the next couple of days to learn all about Eataly. I loved it and can't wait to get back.

-Mike

5 - Day Tour of Eataly Coming Up

Welcome back foodies! Yesterday I went to Eataly and it was spectacular. I don't want to give away too much about Eataly right now because starting Monday I will be doing a 5-Day Tour of Eataly. Each day I will tell and show all you foodies a little bit about Eataly and Eataly's genius owners. Here is the tour schedule.


Monday - Overview of Eataly as a whole and some facts about Eataly

Tuesday - Review of Manzo (the fine dining restaurant in Eataly)

Wednesday- All about the market and savory food

Thursday - All about the bakery and sweets

Friday - Meet all of the owners that put the place together

Anyway can't wait to tell all you foodies about Eataly. Since Monday will be the first day of the tour of Eataly I would like to do the list of events for the week of 11/28 now. So here they are.

New York, NY – Flatiron           (Eataly – 200 5^th Ave.)

Meet NYC restaurant owner and PBS host, Lidia Bastianich

Book Signing- Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia’s Christmas Kitchen

Date & Time:

12/ 1/ 2010
Starts at - 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m

Book Costs $15.95

No contact information

*Please use the 24th St. entrance between 5th and 6th Ave when going to the signing

New York, NY – 59^th and Lexington        (William Sonoma – 121 E 59^th street)

 Meet Chez Panisse’s executive chef in Berkeley California, David Tanis

Book Signing- heart of the artichoke and other kitchen journey’s

Date & Time:

12/ 2/ 2010
Starts at - 5:00 p.m.

(No information about William Sonoma’s cost on the book)

Contact:

(917) 369-1131

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/tip/eric-ripert-book-signing.html

Brooklyn, NY – Park Slope   (Barnes & Nobles - 267 7th Avenue)

Meet cookbook author and Food Network host, Daisy Martinez
Book Signing- Daisy's Holiday Cooking: Delicious Latin Recipes for Effortless Entertaining

Date & Time:

12/ 2/ 2010
Starts at - 7:00 p.m.

Book Costs $16.99

Contact:

718-832-9066

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/69537

Long Island, NY – Manhasset           (Sur La Table – 1468 Northern Boulevard)

Meet one of Food&Wine’s “Best New Chefs” and a James Beard “Rising Star Chef” winner, of Café Boulud, Gavin Kaysen
Cooking Demonstration - Menu - Wild Mushroom Velouté with Sourdough Croutons, Olive Oil - Coconut Poached Lobster with Crispy Rice Cake, Scallion Vinaigrette

Age Restrictions : 18 or older

Date & Time:

12/ 4/ 2010
Starts at – 11: a.m

Price: $125 (All students will take home an All-Clad Copper Core 2-qt. Saucier, a $250 value, included in class price.)

                                                      Contact:

                                                      516-365-3297 

                                                      Sign up NOW! Seating is limited! To sign up click here: 

http://cookingclasses.surlatable.com/browse/classDetailPage1.jsp?classId=767574

As always keep checking back for events and now check back to learn some great things about Eataly.

-Mike

Thanksgiving and French Macarons

Happy Thanksgiving foodies! Since Thanksgiving is the holiest food holiday I decided to make a really special dessert. I am going to do French Macarons. Macarons are becoming so popular these days. It seems as if French Macarons are becoming the next cupcake.

For anyone who does not know what a French Macaron is, it's a sweet confectionery with a meringue based cookie on the top and the bottom. In between is a filling such as butter-cream, jam or ganache. The cookie itself has layers of texture and flavor that are genius. It is like biting into a soft shell that leads to a moist cave yet very airy. Then your teeth move onto that filling as if your still in that cave, very thirsty, and then you find a water reservoir. It is such an experience to bite into that macaron.
So I was between a Martha Stewart recipe and a Sherry Yard recipe (Sherry Yard is the Pastry Chef at Spago) I compared the recipes and they were similar but I decided on the Martha Stewart recipe. Here are both the recipes if anyone wants to make either recipe.



Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Makes 35 macaroons

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam, for filling
• MACAROON VARIATIONS
• Chocolate: Substitute 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder for 1/4 cup of the almond flour.
• Coconut: Substitute 2 tablespoons desiccated unsweetened coconut for 2 tablespoons of the almond flour, and add 1/2 teaspoon rum; sprinkle with additional coconut before baking.
• Peanut: Substitute an equal amount finely ground unsalted peanuts (peanut flour) for the almond flour.
• Pistachio: Substitute 1/2 cup finely ground unsalted pistachios (pistachio flour) for 1/2 cup of the almond flour, and add 2 to 3 drops forest-green gel-paste food coloring.
• Raspberry: Add 1 tablespoon fresh raspberry puree, strained, plus 3 to 4 drops dusty- rose gel-paste food coloring.
• Vanilla Bean: Add 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved for another use.
• SUGGESTED FILLINGS FOR MACAROONS
• Chocolate: Chocolate Ganache
• Coconut: 1 cup Swiss Meringue Buttercream, mixed with 1/3 cup angel-flake coconut.
• Peanut: Chocolate Ganache, or store-bought dulce de leche, jam, or peanut butter.
• Pistachio: 1 cup Swiss Meringue Buttercream, mixed with 1/3 cup finely chopped pistachios.
• Raspberry: 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
• Vanilla Bean: 1 cup Pineapple Buttercream , 1 cup Swiss Meringue Buttercream, or 3/4 cup store-bought jam or preserves.

Directions

1. Pulse confectioners' sugar and almond flour in a food processor until combined. Sift mixture 2 times.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and whisk until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low, then add superfine sugar. Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. Sift flour mixture over whites, and fold until mixture is smooth and shiny.
3. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip, and pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, dragging pastry tip to the side of rounds rather than forming peaks. Tap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macaroons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temperature to 375 degrees, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325 degrees.
4. Let macaroons cool on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. (If macaroons stick, spray water underneath parchment on hot sheet. The steam will help release macaroons.)
5. Sandwich 2 same-size macaroons with 1 teaspoon jam. Serve immediately, or stack between layers of parchment, wrap in plastic, and freeze for up to 3 months.  

Sherry Yard

Ingredients

• 8 ounces confectioners' sugar
• 4 ounces almond meal
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• Pinch cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 ounces granulated sugar
• 5 drops red food color, or desired color

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Sift together the powdered sugar and almond meal, directly into a medium size mixing bowl. Reserve.
Whip egg whites to a foam, add cream of tartar. Continue to whip to soft peaks and stream in the granulated sugar. Add drops of color. Continue to beat for 30 seconds.
Fold the meringue into the dry ingredients. Fill piping bag fitted with desired tip.
Pipe 1-inch rounds onto lightly greased sheet pans. Place in oven for 5 minutes turn and continue to bake for 7 minutes more.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Fill with desired filling, such as raspberry jam



My macarons were filled with a strawberry jam. I already tried the macarons and they are delicious. I hope my guests agree. Here are a few pictures of the macarons.

My firm peaks

Me sifting the almond flower and confectionery sugar

 The results!

Close up results.

So those are my macarons. I hope all of you foodies have a happy Thanksgiving and I hope you all eat some good food.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Mike