![](\"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2011\/11\/p1000782.jpg\" "\\"The")
The Bakery<\/p><\/div>I have often imagined that when we start our official Pizza Quest tour here in NY we may never finish.\u00a0 It would be like a black hole, or a Twilight Zone episode where Peter takes us into the city to one pizzeria after the other and we wake up one day to realize we’re now stuck in a perpetual pizza quest – tasting our way through the city and surrounding boroughs.\u00a0 If we ever got to the end of our journey there, we would probably have to start it all over. I have heard that the Golden Gate Bridge is never finished being painted.\u00a0 It’s so large, that when the crews make their way across the bridge painting it, and finally reach the other side and “finish” – they have to start the process over again at the beginning.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
There’s even another, perhaps more sinister obstacle we would face on our trip through New York.\u00a0 We may never get to that imaginary “End” of our search for that perfect pizza in the first place.\u00a0 We will surely face this manipulative demon day in and day out.\u00a0 We will run smack into a never ending supply of quest-worthy “detours” that would inevitably become quests on their own.\u00a0 Trust me!\u00a0 We went to Cayucos, CA and couldn’t get out of there without numerous side trips, taco quests, cookie connections and that town only has about 137 people! <\/p>\n
One day, we’ll get to NYC with our quest crew.\u00a0 I’ll just have to inform my family and prepare them to move there with me.<\/p>\n
So, what’s the big deal here Brad?\u00a0 Why all this talk of the BIG APPLE?\u00a0 Are you beginning a quest there?\u00a0 No, not yet.\u00a0 But Eataly caused me to realize just how all consuming and compelling New York City can be.<\/p>\n
EATALY.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2011\/11\/p1000786.jpg\" "\\"Fresh")
Fresh Produce<\/p><\/div>Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and her son Joe have put together a concept that may only be possible in this city.\u00a0 I finally had a chance to drop in and wander around this new venture of theirs.\u00a0 It’s hard to believe.\u00a0 It’s decadent, but yet it’s about simple things – quality ingredients, good food, and a celebration of gathering and eating.\u00a0 When I visited it in the summer of 2011, and our economy was not looking it’s shiny best.\u00a0 In a way, it struck me as hard to balance reality and this over the top expression of a gourmet food market.\u00a0 But this is NYC.\u00a0 You have to realize just how many people are here.\u00a0 That justifies a different reality that allows Eataly to exist.\u00a0 Where you may be lucky enough to find a great butcher, fish monger, a fine cheese shop, or bakery in cities and towns everywhere, it’s something special when they happen to all be in the same location.\u00a0 This happens organically on occasion, as one good restaurant becomes successful, it draws another, and another and you begin to have a great neighborhood, village, farmers market, or gathering place.\u00a0 We really do gather around food either in our cities and towns, or at our dinner tables or breakfast nooks.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2011\/11\/p1000795.jpg\" "\\"No")
No neighborhood worth it’s salt is complete without a good cheese shop…<\/p><\/div>Eataly is that neighborhood where all these unique, quality artisan vendors come to sell their goods.\u00a0 It is like what Anthony Strong, of Pizzeria Delfina, so proudly proclaimed in one of our early webisodes about his Castro neighborhood in San Francisco.\u00a0 It had become known as “The Gastro” because of the gathering of so many dedicated food purveyors, restaurants, bakeries who had settled in and it become a place to go to eat, graze, shop, or just get together.\u00a0 In a city like NYC there are certainly many great neighborhoods with all of these elements, but at Eataly, they have taken the concept and brought it into one place, under one roof.\u00a0 The space feels like a remodeled old rail station, or warehouse.\u00a0 It’s clean, bright, and has high enough ceilings to make it feel open, but not too cavernous. I could even say I found it cozy at the same time.\u00a0 The city is like that as well.\u00a0 It’s gigantic, but you find coziness in the smaller parts, the nooks and crannies – the neighborhoods.\u00a0 Eataly’s design also lends to a sense of discovery as you wander through the space, turning corners, and uncovering what else there is to find.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2011\/11\/p1000768.jpg\" "\\"I")
I would like to visit the fishmonger on my next visit!<\/p><\/div>I have one lament though.\u00a0 As a visitor swinging through NY, you can’t take advantage of a big part of the experience, which is access to so many amazing – quality ingredients to take home and cook with!\u00a0 But, you can browse, sit, eat, taste, sample and drink within this great public gathering space.\u00a0 I don’t think you can even appreciate what Eataly is until you’ve had the chance to experience it all, eating in but also taking the food\/ingredients to go.\u00a0 It is a great place to visit, but perhaps a greater lifestyle type of place.\u00a0 I read one review saying how someone was frustrated eating in what was essentially a public market.\u00a0 This was exactly the aspect that I loved so much about it.\u00a0 I was there alone, but I felt part of the shared experience.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2011\/11\/p1000767.jpg\" "\\"People")
People gather, eat and share the experience in La Piazza<\/p><\/div>We all know it’s one of life’s gifts to sit in a quiet little restaurant with a candle on the table and enjoy the ambiance along with some great food.\u00a0 There’s definitely a time for that.\u00a0 And, there’s a time for Eataly — a time to celebrate a gathering of ingredients, foods, artisans, and friends in a very open and sharing way.\u00a0 You can’t help but be excited in here.\u00a0 I would love to rent an apartment in the city sometime just to be able to swing by here to pick up some of these amazing ingredients to take home and make a meal with.\u00a0 In all likelihood, that may well result in a taste or two of some fine wine or other small plates along the way.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2011\/11\/p1000811.jpg\" "\\"La")
La Pizza Napoletana<\/p><\/div>So, what did I eat in there?\u00a0 Well, this is Pizza Quest, right?\u00a0 So, I had to try the pizza, of course!\u00a0 I really wanted to have some fish, but, well you know with the Pizza Quest thing, I didn’t feel there was much of a choice.\u00a0 I could have played off the whole fish taco thing, but I figured the best place for my Eataly journey to end that day would be the pizzeria “La Pizza”.\u00a0 But, as you can see from the photos of the fish store, that’s a place I’ll definitely be back to explore when I can do it justice.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2011\/11\/p1000810%20-%20version%202.jpg "\\"Looks")
Looks delicious, doesn’t it?!<\/p><\/div>I had the Messesse Pizza<\/em>.\u00a0 It had a nice fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, spicy salumi, and a little fresh basil to top it off.\u00a0 Their pizza, as they advise you, is made very thin and is meant to be eaten with a fork from the middle outward to the crust – a traditional Napoletana style pizza. The pizza was balanced, bright and delicious.\u00a0 The crust was very thin in the middle and had a nice chew to it out near the cornicione<\/em>.\u00a0 I was very happy!\u00a0 I will be back.\u00a0 <\/p>\n I live in California.\u00a0 I realize that my Eataly Quest may take some time to complete.\u00a0 And, I realize that it may be much like my dream of our Pizza Quest in NYC – a never ending journey – which is great because that is what life is all about and I think it’s exactly what Mario and the gang were striving for.<\/p>\n {gallery}eataly{\/gallery}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"