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(Not) shopping in New York: Eataly Chicago edition.
by
Elizabeth Schreiter
Calificación: 4.0
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%20shopping%20in%20New%20York:%20Eataly%20Chicago%20edition.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EEataly%20storefront%20on%20Ohio%20Ave%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhenever%20we%E2%80%99re%20in%20the%20Flatiron%20district,%20I%20love%20to%20teasingly%20goad%20Michael%20into%20dropping%20in%20on%20Eataly;%20lately,%20his%20response%20has%20been%20simply%20%E2%80%9COK,%20see%20you%20at%20home%20then.%E2%80%9D%20You%20may%20recall%20our%20initial%20impressions%20of%20Eataly%20New%20York%20when%20it%20first%20opened%20over%20Labor%20Day%20weekend%20in%202010;%20I%E2%80%99ve%20made%20a%20few%20visits%20there%20since%20then%20on%20my%20own,%20and%20I%20can%E2%80%99t%20say%20that%20my%20initial%20impressions%20have%20changed%20all%20that%20much.%20Any%20time%20I%E2%80%99ve%20purchased%20ingredients%20to%20make%20dinner%20I%E2%80%99ve%20been%20extremely%20satisfied%20with%20the%20results,%20and%20on%20my%20last%20visit%20I%20treated%20myself%20to%20a%20Neapolitan-style%20pizza%20that%20was%20easily%20among%20the%20best%20pizzas%20I%20ever%20had.%20But%20on%20the%20weekends%20the%20place%20was%20nearly%20as%20claustrophobic%20%20as%20it%20had%20been%20on%20opening%20weekend,%20and%20for%20all%20of%20the%20text%20on%20the%20walls%20celebrating%20Italian%20food%20culture,%20I%20was%20still%20left%20rather%E2%80%A6cold.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EOver%20Christmas%20I%20had%20heard%20that%20there%20were%20other%20Eataly%20locations%20opening%20up%20in%20the%20next%20few%20years,%20with%20a%20Chicago%20location%20having%20opened%20in%20November%20and%20space%20on%20a%20spot%20in%20Philadelphia%20allegedly%20secured.%20In%20chatting%20with%20my%20brother-in-law%20and%20his%20boyfriend%20about%20the%20latter,%20reflecting%20on%20the%20good%20and%20the%20disappointing,%20I%20realized%20that%20it%20had%20been%20a%20while%20since%20I%20went%20there%20and%20maybe,%20just%20maybe%20I%20had%20been%20too%20hard%20on%20the%20place,%20that%20I%20was%20trying%20to%20make%20it%20into%20something%20it%20never%20set%20out%20to%20be%20anyway.%20So%20when%20we%20were%20in%20Chicago%20a%20few%20weekends%20ago%20and%20I%20realized%20that%20Eataly%20Chicago%20was%20open%20and%20right%20off%20of%20Michigan%20Avenue,%20I%20decided%20to%20see%20if%20perhaps%20the%20second%20iteration%20had%20improved%20upon%20the%20first.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EMy%20first%20stop%20in%20was%20early%20(at%20least%20for%20a%20Sunday%20morning),%20just%20to%20get%20a%20cappuccino%20to%20enjoy%20on%20my%20walk%20to%20the%20Museum%20of%20Contemporary%20Art.%20%20The%20market%20had%20just%20opened%20and%20very%20few%20people%20were%20milling%20about,%20so%20I%20was%20able%20to%20get%20a%20feel%20for%20the%20place%20before%20the%20really%20busy%20period%20of%20time.%20This%20space%20was%20enormous%E2%80%94it%20felt%20like%20it%20was%20practically%20twice%20the%20size%20of%20the%20New%20York%20store%E2%80%94and%20everything%20was%20distributed%20among%20two%20floors.%20Everything%20was%20still%20laid%20out%20in%20a%20haphazard%20way%20so%20you%20would%20snake%20past%20the%20various%20restaurants%20and%20food%20counters,%20but%20they%20didn%E2%80%99t%20feel%20quite%20as%20serpentine%20or%20as%20narrow%20this%20time%20around.%20It%20was%20also%20much%20brighter:%20instead%20of%20walls%20painted%20in%20deep%20colors%20of%20wine-red%20here%20and%20there,%20everything%20was%20starkly%20white.%20But%20the%20real%20test%20would%20come%20when%20I%20would%20come%20back%20for%20lunch%20to%20see%20what%20this%20place%20was%20really%20like.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt%E2%80%99s%20a%20little%20busy%E2%80%A6%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EYeah,%20foot%20traffic%20had%20picked%20up%20exponentially%20when%20I%20returned.%20While%20it%20wasn%E2%80%99t%20as%20cramped%20as%20I%20remember%20in%20the%20New%20York%20store,%20it%20was%20still%20extremely%20busy.%20The%20wait%20was%20predictably%20long%20at%20La%20Pizza%20&%20La%20Pasta%20if%20you%20wanted%20a%20table%20for%20a%20group%20of%20three%20or%20more,%20and%20the%20crush%20of%20diners%20meant%20that%20those%20of%20us%20seated%20along%20the%20counter%20had%20to%20wait%20a%20while%20before%20a%20wait%20staff%20member%20came%20to%20get%20our%20orders.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThat%20left%20me%20a%20mite%20cranky,%20because%20I%20was%20hungry%20and%20once%20I%20had%20decided%20on%20trying%20the%20cacio%20e%20pepe,%20I%20really,%20really%20wanted%20it.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ECacio%20e%20Pepe%20(and%20yes,%20it%20was%20delicious)%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWas%20it%20worth%20the%20wait?%20Well,%20kind%20of%E2%80%94while%20the%20dish%20itself%20was%20executed%20flawlessly,%20once%20again%20I%20was%20left%20feeling%20cold,%20as%20if%20I%20found%20myself%20in%20a%20very%20high-end%20cafeteria%20and%20the%20intent%20was%20to%20get%20me%20in%20and%20out%20as%20quickly%20as%20humanly%20possible%20while%20only%20given%20the%20bare%20minimum%20when%20it%20came%20to%20friendly%20service.%20I%20paid%20and%20took%20my%20glass%20of%20wine%20to%20wander%20some%20more%20around%20the%20store,%20wishing%20it%20were%20feasible%20to%20stuff%20some%20bags%20of%20pasta%20into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