With mom only in town two full days, we scheduled out most of our time. After an incredible church service at Hillsong NYC, we headed off to eat at one of our favorites!
Eataly is the brainchild of chef and restauranteur Mario Batali. It is basically an indoor Italian piazza in the middle of Manhattan. Located just west of Madison Square Park, Eataly is a cultural experience from start to finish. It is a marketplace, restaurant, wine store, kitchen, rooftop bar garden, and cooking school; a whirlwind of busyness, divided into different areas. You can shop around or sit in one of the 7 restaurant areas located next to the market which provides the fresh ingredients. Wait times can be a bit long at lunch and dinner hours, but the bar seats are first come first serve so we always scope those out.
We took a seat right away at the Le Verdure (Vegetable) restaurant. It is our favorite for lunch! The ingredients are incredibly fresh and the dishes are very unique.
Mom and I shared two dishes. The first was the Insalata special. It was a mixture of sprouts, sugar snap peas, asparagus, and scallions with ricotta cheese and polenta croutons popped on top.
The second dish was the Gnocchi Alla Romana. Now, when we ordered Gnocchi, we envisioned the usual round potato pasta. That's not what we got! Instead we were served a remix of the original. They used baked semolina and parmesan to form three large "dumplings". The gnocchi was topped with sauteed broccoli rabe, salsa verde, and a piquillo pepper puree that we licked up with bread.
We were so curious about it that I forgot to take a picture before digging in.
After our last bite and sip of wine, we took a little walk around the market. Mom picked up some fresh pasta to take back for dinner.
With rain still ominously stalking us outside, we opted for another museum day. We took the train to the Upper East Side to the famous Guggenheim Museum.
You can't take pictures past the ground floor of the Guggenheim, so this is all I could capture. I love this museum because the exhibits change regularly so you can go every few months and see something totally new. Currently showing is Italian Futurism...not my favorite, and a beautiful photography and video exhibit by Carrie Mae Weems.
We had to rush back across the park to get mom's luggage, but not before a stop at Milk Bar. The Momofuku Dessert Bar has the coolest treats. With too many options, I went with the cream cheese icing soft serve with hot fudge, and mom picked the candy bar pie.
It's always tough to say bye to mom. She's the best mom a girl could ask for and I hate that we live so far apart. Forever grateful for all she has done and continues to do for me each day.
See you soon from NYC.
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