When thinking about celebrity chefs, Mario Batali is undoubtedly one of the most famous in many people’s minds. I’ve been to Babbo and Otto, two of his smaller NYC Italian restaurants, but I’d never been to his most popular location:
Eataly. It’s a huge Italian-style market in the Flatiron District with several places to grab a casual or sit-down meal. Last night, I met up with Tina, Ashley and Theodora for dinner at Birreria, the market’s rooftop restaurant and brewery.
The whole concept of the place is very unique, crossing Italian food with a typically German or American beverage. Definitely a tricky combination to pull off, but Birreria really made it work.
I loved that it was open-air, as well. The roof actually slides shut when it rains, so you can eat there in any kind of weather. I’d love to see it when it’s dark out!
While we waited for a table, we grabbed some drinks. I went with the Sixpoint Righteous Rye, which sounded unusual.
It was good- malty and slightly citrusy.
The menu wasn’t too big, but all the options sounded amazing. It’s kind of nice when a restaurant offers a few well-chosen dishes, instead of a million options.
To start, they brought us fresh bread with olive oil.
It’s been crazy hot in the city lately, so I wasn’t really in the mood for anything hot. A salad, on the other hand, sounded perfect. I got the insalata cotta cruda, with bibb lettuce, wax beans, potato, roasted onions, asparagus, tomatoes, olives, capers and red wine vinaigrette.
This was absolutely perfect for such a hot day. It was just a really good combination of textures and flavors, with a not-too-heavy dressing. Tina and Ashley actually got the same thing!
On the side, I also ordered a dish of pickled vegetables, which I forgot to photograph until I was halfway done eating them.
And Theodora got the pork chop.
It was a nice night to just sit outside and chat for awhile, and fortunately the thunderstorms held off until after we’d left.
Words to live by to end the night:
What do you prefer- a huge menu with tons of options, or a smaller menu with more carefully selected ones? I think it depends on the dining situation. With big groups more tends to be better, but I feel like quality is usually higher when there are fewer choices.
