eat this

The other night we stopped by my cousin’s in Lincoln Park for a glass of wine before heading out to dinner. She had a wonderful spread of cured meats and the most amazing fresh ricotta. My husband and I couldn’t wait to find out where she got it.

Turns out there is an Eataly in Chicago. It’s a 12-minute drive from my apartment. And if you spend $20 you can park for an hour for free. The market is surprisingly well priced. The quality is much higher than whole foods, and the costs are pretty comparable. 

Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, the next day I drove myself over to Eataly to recreate that wonderful appetizer. A schmear of fresh ricotta on toasted baguette slices and a dollop of hot pepper jelly.

At Eataly the fish, cured meats, butcher, pasta, bakery, cheeses were all incredible.

I picked up some of the best soft-shell crabs I have ever had.

I made a wonderful cacio pepe from their maccheroni alla chitarra pasta.

From their Bolognese ground meat blend, I whipped up some delicious roasted Italian meatballs to stow in my freezer. 

Oh, and the charcuterie! Bresaola, mortadella, salumi. 

One of my favorites of all time is a simple arugula salad topped with thin slices of bresaola and a few shavings of imported Parmesan. 

When buying a baguette, I just had to get a couple slices of their flatbread for lunch.

And what a taste it was!