New York's Latest and Greatest Food Destination: Eataly

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All my friends could tell me before we arrived at Eataly was that I was going to love it, absolutely and completely love it.

I can understand why they had a hard time describing Eataly. It's an overwhelming and exhilarating wonderland of food-related experiences, as if someone had a vision for the best grocery shopping, dining, socializing, sampling, and tasting experience and put it together all under one roof: Eataly.  Those someones are restaurant and culinary magnates Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and founder of the existing Eataly market in Turin, Italy: Oscar Farinetti.

The store feels very much like an indoor European market or plaza, an agglomeration of restaurants, grocery stores, wine bars, and specialty vendors. Even the interior architecture is reminiscent of regal Italian buildings, with grand arches and opulent decor that reminds me of my visit to the Vatican.

On a Saturday at 4, Eataly was packed to the point that they had agents monitoring the number of people inside over walkie-talkies to ensure they wouldn't exceed capacity. There were literally crowds of people shopping for fine Italian spaghetti and sauces, browsing the array of sexy kitchen goods, mingling over proscuitto and cheese plates, sampling wines, and kids making the difficult decision of which gelato to choose.

If you haven't been there yet, you must see for yourself. Eataly occupies a city block in the Toy Building at 200 Fifth Ave between 23rd and 24th Street.

Here's an article about Eataly from the New York Post: http://www.nypost.com/p/lifestyle/food/welcome_to_eataly_G5QHOIVyNtzG44tyFb5GVM

And another from Eater.com that could not be more aptly called "Welcome to Eataly, a 50,000 Sq. Ft. Italian Culinary Funhouse" with pictures: http://ny.eater.com/archives/2010/08/first-look-at-culinary-funhouse-eataly.php

You can even get an Eataly iWhatever App with recipes, wine lists, and what's in season: http://www.newyork.eataly.it/index.php/eataly-iphone-app/

Sette Luna- Tuscan Trattoria in Easton

The first thing to be said about Sette Luna is that it has a fantastic atmosphere. Even their website manages to convey the same degree of comfortable elegance that we found within the restaurant.

I looked up the menu after choosing it off the list of restaurants I had yet to try which I'm gleaning from my interactive map of Lehigh Valley's Favorite Restaurants (click here), compiled from submissions by Lehigh Valley's Twitter community.

Pizze Napoletane
http://www.setteluna.com

Tre Colore Salad
http://www.setteluna.com

Sette Luna is an Italian restaurant, per se, but it is by no means your typical Italian dining. We found it to be much lighter fare, more delicate than many heavy, overly filling Italian meals.

A small bowl of olives, rather than bread, was brought out to begin the meal. The appetizers we sampled from the specials, which seem to be somewhat consistent, included goat-cheese stuffed figs, the Tre Colore Salad (See above with arugula, endive, and another somewhat bitter green I can't recall, dressed in a lemon vinagrette), and the Warm Octopus Salad. All were presented beautifully and served relatively quickly, our only complaint was that the Octopus Salad was a bit fishy.

Next we tried the Pizze Napoletane Gamberetti, a Margherita pizza (sea salt, San Marzano tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella) with sauteed shrimp, pesto, and lemon. Sette Luna's pizza selection is incredibly impressive and comes in a variety of three types:

• Napoletane-style with thin crusts, red sauce, and chunks of mozzarella, tomato, garlic, and basil
• Lune Pizze Al Pomodoro-with sauce and four cheeses
• Bianca-no sauce, also sometimes referred to as a white pizza

Pizze diners are also encouraged to add additional toppings from a list. 

Moral of the story: the crust was thin and perfectly crunchy and the flavors of the Pizze Napoletane Gamberetti were excellent. Despite having to to take the tails off of the roasted shrimp on the pizza, I was more than pleased. 

The cheesecake we split for dessert was also the best cheesecake I've had in years. It's apparently culled from a secret recipe, and comes crustless with a mystery cheese and Limoncello as ingredients.

Speaking of Limoncello, the drink menu at Sette Luna included a wonderful list of mixed drinks, several wines, and a large craft beer selection. I've been told to try a few craft beers I can't yet speak for, but I'll pass the recommendations along: 

• for hoppy: Southern Tier 2x IPA
• Fuller's ESB
• Domaine Due Page
• Sierra Nevada Glissade

The menu begs for several more visits. Other more typically appetizers like Calamari and Caprese are wonderful I'm sure. There are a few dining rooms, and even heat-lamps for outdoor dining in front of the restaurant, which entices me to try sitting in various locations as well. The warm lighting and beautiful rustic yet elegant atmosphere made for a great dinner with friends, we were certainly glad we made the trek to Easton.