MY TRIP TO EATALY

EATALY - THE REVIEW

 Located in Century City, California it is the perfect venue to spend an interactive evening with friends and family. My husband pleasantly surprised me with a date night to Eataly. Wow – it is everything Italiano! We arrived early to explore.

Parking
Eataly is located in Westfield Mall. Parking ($3 hourly, Max $30) - Tip, visit Gelson’s Market and purchase $5 worth of groceries and they validate for 3 hours.

All About Eataly
The first floor hosts a nice café, La Scuola (cooking school), a Gelato Bar, Cannoli Station where everything handmade. My husband and I were drawn to the gelato. I sampled some of the gelatos and found the pistachio to be AMAZING! This frozen delight is made with all natural ingredients so the color was not green like I imagined. This gelato was a tan color but the flavor so intense and strong one would not question that it was made with real cream, real pistachios. I sampled some of the gelatos and found the pistachio to be AMAZING! Randy stuck with his favorite, chocolate chip which was rich, creamy and delicious. But what surprised me was the waffle cone. It was light, crispy, cookie like and oh so scrumptious!

We ventured upstairs and I was as delighted as a kid in a toy store! The floor was overflowing with various food counters and eateries. My eyes popped to see a butchers counter, fresh fish market, a bakery (we could see the breads being made), a confectioners corner, a cheese and deli counter, fresh produce, all the pasta you can imagine and more! The eateries were clean, the staff friendly and the food is prepared as you watch. We took a pausa pranzo (lunch break) and noshed on pizza. Not ordinary, done with a soft, warm light pizza dough crust that was bake brown and crispy. Mine was topped with culatello (prosciutto type meat), fresh Burrata cheese, arugula and cherry tomatoes; Randy’s was simple, olive oil and freshly made mozzarella – both, Che bello!

The Cooking Class
Our night of culinary exploration included hands-on Homestyle Cooking Italian style. Chef Dennis (Italian) introduced the menu as we helped ourselves to a delizioso appetizer spread of Italian cheeses, meats, and breads served with endless Franciacorta presecco.

The Menu

Antipasto: Asparagi graten egg bismark con porchetta (Crisp Asparagus wrapped in Porchetta topped with a fried egg)
Primo: Tagliatelle Cotto e Zucchine (Tagliatelle with Zucchine and Prosciutto Cotto)
Dolce: Torta al Pinoli (Pine Nuts Cake

The room had 3 cooking stations accommodating 4 people each. The Chef assigned us to our station which corresponded with the menu item the station was responsible for. We happily got the Primo dish and I had my first pasta making experience.  I will share the recipes in future blogs as I will be attempting them at home for friends and family.

When all the dishes were complete the entire group sat at a long table to be served the fruits of our efforts. A new red wine was served with dinner, DiGiovanna Helios Rosso and a wine expert shared his knowledge about the wines of the evening. 

Overall Experience
The evening was Sei magnifico! It was not about any one experience but about the entire experience which included a little exploration, new cooking experiences, working with new people, learning culinary culture from qualified professionals, and just having fun. Would I do it again? YES - Anybody Game?