It’s not often that two of my favorite things, Cooking and Science Fiction, are combined in one place. And it’s funny as well!
Judy Newton
We got to Eataly just in time to run into the last of the lunch rush. We walked in to an enormous room filled with grocery aisles, specialty departments, tables and chairs, and about a dozen different locations to eat lunch. These range from small and informal bars to large, fancy restaurants.
We sat down on the first two empty seats we saw, which happened to be at “LA ROSTICCERIA,” the roasted meat station. The Eataly website describes this one as “the ultimate destination for meat lovers … offers a complete meal in one spot. Every day, we offer different roasted meat to either purchase by the pound or to enjoy immediately on a sandwich.”
We both ordered the Tuesday special, a sandwich filled with Arista Sausage (made and roasted in-house) and a side of salad. Although the sausage seemed to be sliced meat rather than ground, it was well-seasoned and delicious. House-made bread with olive oil for dipping came with it.
After lunch, Barry elected to wait at the Starbucks down the block (free WiFi) while I wandered happily around the store. Through the small but interesting selection of Italian housewares, the rather pro forma fresh produce section (their hearts aren’t really in it), to the more impressive cheese, meat, seafood, pasta, sweets, bread, gelato, and not one but two coffee bars.
After getting lost in the dry goods aisles, I bought some fresh pasta to take home. This picture shows just a fraction of the selling and eating floor.
Last summer, Mario Batali announced that he would be opening Eataly DC in 2012. However, the Washington Post Going Out Gurus reported in September that plans seem to have changed since then. Stay tuned!
Last week Barry and I took a Tripper bus up to New York City for an event at Planet Hollywood. Nothing notable to eat there, but I had a foodie agenda for the rest of the trip.
After we checked in to our hotel, we set out to visit the food hall at Grand Central Station. On the way we walked through Bryant Park, which has several ‘wichcraft kiosks selling lunch, snacks and very good coffee. These are the brainchild of Tom Colicchio, chef and owner of the Craft family of restaurants and head judge of Bravo’s Top Chef.
Grand Central Food Hall is full of stalls selling just about anything a busy commuter could ask for, to consume at the end (or beginning) of the workday – and some things are more unexpected than others.
The next day, we went to explore the newly opened section of the High Line. This elevated park winding its way through several miles of the west side of Midtown was a railroad right-of-way back when many more things were manufactured in New York than now. It was abandoned and condemned, but then rescued and converted into an extraordinary space. There are food concessions during the summer, but none on a weekday in October, alas – although there is a stairway down to the Chelsea Market.
We were walking along West 20th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues when I spotted a plaque on the wall of one of the old brownstones: The Muffin House, home for years to the Thomas English Muffin bakery. Of course I took a picture.
Our last destination before heading towards the bus stop was Eataly, the amazing Italian food emporium, but it deserves an entry of its own.
6th Oct 2011
This will be my first attempt to post pictures on this blog, so bear with me. The Natural Products Expo had some great visuals, one of which was an elephant cake made by Charm City Cakes, a local Baltimore bakery. The Kelapo coconut products people swore that it was a real, edible cake made with their coconut oil. Unfortunately, they were loath to cut it up to prove this point, so I couldn’t say.
The Taiyaki-making machine was even more interesting, because they were giving out samples of the little fish-shaped fritters the machine turns out. In Japan, there are tiny shops dispensing these snacks in every neighborhood; my daughter had one down the block from her apartment when she lived in Tokyo. The fillings change with the season. At the Expo, they offered pumpkin spice-flavored cream filling.
The last picture shows a display of the colors and fillings available using plastic models to represent the real food. In Japan, many restaurants have these models of food displayed in their windows, making it easy to order when you don’t speak Japanese! There is a street in Tokyo lined with restaurant supply shops, some specializing in selling every kind of food model you can imagine, both raw ingredients and finished dishes.
Judy Newton
Thanks to the thoughtfulness of our wonderful Market vendor Funlayo Alabi, owner of Shea Radiance shea butter products company, I attended the Natural Products Expo East last week.
Funlayo had a booth on the Expo floor. When I came by to say hello, she was busy making sales and contacts to sell her products. She works with African woman who process and ship shea butter. She considers it her mission to create beautiful body care products from ingredients that come from renewable and sustainable sources in Africa while having a positive impact on the lives of women and children in the communities in which Shea Radiance does business. I hope her continuing success won’t preclude her from staying a part of our Market community!
I have to admit that I just skimmed the surface of the cosmetics area of the Expo. I spent most of my time in the food area, which was big enough to consume most of the two days I was there. The expo is the largest natural products trade show on the East Coast, with more than 22,000 attendees and more than 1,300 booths. You must be in the business to attend it.
There were samples of food to taste, producers to meet, and (if one found the time,) educational seminars and chef demos to attend. I did manage to squeeze in a demo by Top Chef Masters Chef Hugh Atcheson. I asked him if he would like to do a chef demo at OFAM and although he lives in Georgia, he mentioned he had family in Virginia. So, stay tuned.
Nora Pouillon came by to say hello to Chef Hugh. It was a thrill to meet her – in 1999 her restaurant, Restaurant Nora in Georgetown, became the nation’s first certified organic restaurant.
She also initiated the first producer-only farmer’s markets in the nation’s capital. If we had Living National Treasures like Japan does, she’d be one.
Enough heroine worship for one post. More on the Expo later.
Judy Newton
Chef Liaison, Olney Farmers and Artists Market
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