Eataly Milano Smeraldo {part 1}

Have you every checked out Eataly NYC? Or how about the one in Chicago? What about Eataly Milano Smeraldo? We are in love with Eataly and have visited the ones in NYC and Chicago. If you love food and especially Italian food, you have to check out Eataly.

The NYC one is always very busy. The Chicago Eataly was not as busy as NYC and we even ran into Joe Bastianich when we were there in March. He seems to be a bigger star in Italy than he is in the States (if that is possible). He was pretty chill and spoke in Italian with our son and took a photo with him. Our little guy knew him from Masterchef Junior, so he was happy to see him there. It was funny because we actually ran into him at the Eataly NYC the year before.

So when in Milan, go to Eataly? Why not? Being married to a chef, it was something we couldn’t miss. Eataly was founded in Italy and 10 of the chain’s 27 global locations are found within Italy. Do Italians really like the Eataly idea? I spoke with some people I know (friends and distant cousins of my hubs), and they all mentioned that Eataly is too expensive. With the economic crisis that there is in Italy, Eataly is not quite a reality for many of its citizens. Is it someplace to check out and pick up a few things for these people? Maybe. I didn’t ask enough people to get a good enough idea if Eataly is just for those that can really afford it and the tourists.

The 4 story food emporium is in a building that was once a theater. The 54,000+ sq. ft. flagship Eataly store opened in Milan in late March of 2014.

There are an anticipated 20 million visitors to Milan in 2015 for Expo Milano, which opened May 1st and runs through October 31, and is focused on the food theme of Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.

Have you ever visited an Eataly? What do you think about it?

I’m hoping you will like these photos and I will share them in 2 parts (I’ve taken so many on my Iphone and want to just show you a little bit of what it’s like). Part 2 will follow soon after…ci vediamo presto (see you soon!).