The press tour of Eataly last night left us in awe of what Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and their Italian partners are trying to accomplish with the opening of the flagship American Eataly store on Fifth Avenue in New York—an Italian food emporium of mindboggling proportions. There's every Italian foodstuff you'd want, everything you could think about wanting, in the vast space curated by Batali and company. More
Editor's note: In "Apps Only," Ben Fishner will be eating his way through New York's appetizer, bar, and lounge menus as your guide to fine dining on a budget. He blogs at Ben Cooks Everything. House made coppa cotta.... More
"With a name like that, there had to be a story behind it." [Photograph: Laren Spirer] Mario Batali's Otto is known for many things: irresistible gelato, pizza and pastas galore, a variety of tasty antipasti, and an encyclopedic Italian wine... More
Editor's note: In "Apps Only," Ben Fishner will be eating his way through New York's appetizer, bar, and lounge menus as your guide to fine dining on a budget. [Photos: Robyn Lee] More Apps Only DBGB Kitchen & Bar... More
What we found and tasted was stunning: Ladner has somehow managed to reconcile the earthy and the elegant, just what a four-star Italian restaurant has to do. The food at Del Posto is now grounded, focused, and crazy good. And that $29 lunch deal? It's a steal. Here's why. More
[Photo: Robyn Lee] Yesterday, Mario Batali announced that he'd be doing away with the enoteca portion of Del Posto, extending the fine dining menu to the full space. Ed has always been of the opinion that the more relaxed,... More
There are lots of terrific benefits the food community gets involved in, and we try to tell you about as many of them as we can. But I feel compelled to tell all serious eaters about the cocktail party benefit... More
In 2007, Mario Batali raised between 1.3 and 1.5 million bucks for charity. Yeah, not many people can just snap their fingers and do that. While he supports the arts, and other causes that have happily received his big money,... More
Marco Pierre White, the archetypal badboy chef and host of Chopping Block, which premieres tonight, told Time magazine: "My favorite restaurants in New York are run by Mario Batali. He finds that balance between formality and informality. Even Del Posto... More
Otto's Linguine Siciliani from roboppy on Flickr. Whether it's in or out, I don't know—and I don't care. To me, Mario Batali's Otto on 5th Avenue and 8th Street is the mecca for cheap, al dente Italian eats. I... More
