Meeting Mario

I have to begin by saying that I am not one to get all googely-eyed over celebrities. In fact, I am quite the opposite. I would rather just leave people to their own to enjoy their lives, rather than harassing them as so many others seem to do.

 
On a trip to New York last weekend, I made plans with my best friend and our boys to check out Eataly, Mario Batali’s newest restaurant concept. After dining at some of Mario’s restaurants here in LA and watching him endlessly on the Food Network, I was eager to see what it was all about. I read many exciting reviews of this new eatery, describing it as seven restaurant concepts under one roof, along with amazing artisan/gourmet food selections: Pasta, pizza, wine, cheese, cured meats, chocolate, gelato, breads, etc., offered in one unique setting in a loft-style building in Manhattan. Just the thought of this place drove my foodie palate wild at the thought of its deliciousness.

 
When we arrived, it was bustling with people moving between different food stations, each with their own décor, and each offering a different type of eats. We were pleasantly surprised to find a large high-top table for the four of us to hunker down at. Service began attentively and with a smile, but that quickly took a downward spiral. Our server disappeared after we let him know the bottle of wine we ordered was corked, but not before trying to argue with us that it wasn’t. A young, uneducated server leaves a lot to be desired when they try to argue such things. He did finally arrive back with a better Barbera varietal, which we all thoroughly enjoyed, but he remained unavailable to us for the rest of our stay. We had to track down any random server in sight for the remainder of our meal service. But now back to the fun part.

 
As we surveyed the scene, we looked about to see what everyone else was eating and suddenly I spotted Mario behind a counter, casually chatting to a few of the clientele seated nearby! I took a walk over to check out if he was wearing his signature orange clogs. Confirmed. I was half tempted to say hello but decided to refrain and leave the man to his work.

 
We ordered a few menu items to share, including a platter of assorted cheeses and charcuterie and a tomato mozzarella dish. Both were outstanding in quality, presentation and flavor.

 

 After wrapping up our meal, we wandered around the different sections of the venue gazing longingly at the variety of Italian cuisine in each area. The gelato bar and espresso station looked inviting but we refrained. We spotted Mario again, still chatting to guests and staff members throughout the joint.  This time, I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing Lou’s arm and approaching him to say hello. At that point I was fully committed to making his acquaintance and had also decided I would ask him for a photograph. He was smiley and bubbly the whole time and was appreciative when I told him I was a big fan. I guess it’s easy to grin from ear to ear when you have just launched a tremendous new food venture in NYC!

http://www.newyork.eataly.it/index.php/about/about-us/

-Jean