Three people told me to head to Eataly when I was in New York recently and despite the umpteen times I’ve been there, I had never hung out there. It is the largest artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in the world at 42,500 square feet.
Located in the heart of the Flatiron District, Eataly is a collaboration between Mario Batali, Joe and Lidia Bastianisch and Eataly founder Oscar Farinetti. 
Eataly has seven eateries offering pizza, pasta, meat, fish, vegetables, panini, gelato, pastries and coffee, plus a newly-opened rooftop beer garden, Birreria.
The market sells the same quality products used by the chefs: cured meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, handmade pasta, pasties, coffee and tea as well as dried pastas, sauces and olive oil.
They even have a cooking school, bookstore and housewares section making you feel like you’re meandering through Italy not New York’s Flatiron District.
From pastas, breads and spreads to olive oils and wine, you can find it. They also have a host of restaurants, which use products from their market, including meat, salumi, cheese, fish, vegetables and fruit.
Restaurants are vast in the network including La Piazza, Il Pesce, Le Verdure, Manzo, I Panini, Rosticceria, Birreria, La Pizza & Pasta, Pasticceria, Gelateria, Caffe Lavazza, Vergnano, and more as well as great coffee and chocolate specialties.
Photo credits: LauraMiller
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
