I can’t not go to Eataly when I have some time on my own in a city that has one (though I stopped going after the reveal of how horrible Mario Batali was and only resumed well after the news that he had been totally divested of the company) because it’s one of those places that does a good job at making you feel a little fancy and a little pampered when you eat there. Each location is a little different too, in order to make it a little more in line with the city that it resides in, and it should come as no surprise that seafood was a big focus of the Boston location.
When I went in on that grey-but-warm day, though, I wasn’t in the mood for seafood (though had I had a kitchen, I would have bought some from the fish case), but the house-made mozzarella spoke to me. Paired with some late cherry tomatoes and tarralli, it made for a really low-key lunch that hit the spot in the way I needed.
One thing I wasn’t expecting was the run on bar seats in the main dining area at 2:30 PM on a Tuesday afternoon in early November as I was practically chased out by this couple who really wanted my seat and the one next to mine. (For the record, there were other seats available at other bars in the immediate area, but they *had* to sit at the wine bar.)
