Happy April!! Can you believe its already April, because I can't!! The month of March completely flew by. The snow has all melted here in Minneapolis, the trails are slowly starting to fill with runners and bikers, but the best part is, that farmers markets are right around the corner! Speaking of markets, I just spent Easter weekend in Chicago visiting one of my best girlfriends and we went to one of the BEST food markets/restaurants! Obviously since I love all food, eating and exploring, I knew I was going to have a great time. Chicago is such a 'foodie' town and is a perfect place to try out new things and discover new places!
So, immediately after de-boarding the plane and dropping our stuff off at the apartment, the girls and I went straight to Eataly to grab a glass of vino and bite to eat. Only located in Chicago and New York, Eataly is a combination of an Italian trattoria, wine bar and food market where you can pick up all of your staple cooking ingredients! Although the overall space of Eataly is expands over a two levels, each area is broken up into stations, such as pizza, pasta, seafood, etc., so the customer can choose the area in which they would like to eat. Additionally, there are endless amounts of sections to walk through, such as fresh produce, a cheese section, seafood, wine, dried/cured meats, copious choices of breads, as well as a plethora of olive oils and balsamic vinegars to choose from. Its an amazingly overwhelming experience and I could honestly spend all day, everyday wandering around inside there.
After stopping at just about every area, the girls and I decided to get a class of wine. I loved the wine area, because there was a beautiful presentation of wines to choose from and the barrels of wine were displayed for the consumers to look at as well. It was a perfect place to sit, while we waited for our table to eat.
After waiting, and do except a bit of a wait, because that is how amazing this place is. Visitors come to Eataly from all over because there is of course, only two of them in the country and the food is spectacular. Finally, we were finally seated...in the pizza section. Of course, we had to try out one, or two, of Eataly's famous thin crust brick oven pizzas! The girls and I shared two pizzas and of course, because I am obsessed with anything truffle oil, I had to order the black truffle and mushroom pizza! You guys, I can honestly say, I am OBSESSED with this pizza and it is probably one of the best pizzas I've ever tried. If that isn't enough to get to come to Eataly when you're in Chicago or New York, then I don't know what is!
Overall, I have to say I am really OBSESSED with this place. I have now visited Eataly at least three times and it has never disappointed. I only wish that they would open one here in Minneapolis, so I could do all of my grocery shopping in addition to eating all of the amazing food. The ambiance and flavors really brought me back to when I spent time traveling throughout Italy. Go check it out & if you do, let me know your thoughts! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do & I hope you enjoyed this post as well! When you're in Chicago or New York next, you'll now have a spot on your list to check out!