Eataly New York Celebrates Its 3rd Anniversary

Eataly, the Italian food and restaurant emporium opened by Mario Batali and Joe and Lidia Bastianich in New York City's Flatiron neighborhood in 2010, turned 3 years old on Aug. 31 and celebrated by transforming the space into a classical Italian food and wine festival, with more than 30 stands set up throughout the store to sell some of their most popular foods and beverages.

In order to purchase food or wine from the stands, you first needed to purchase tickets for $4 each, which could be redeemed at the stands. Items ranged from one ticket (for a glass of prosecco or plate of fried chickpeas) to five tickets (for a seven-piece fish crudo flight). Other options included fresh mozzarella, cheese and salumi, porchetta, fried risotto balls, caviar, oysters, crostini topped with white bean, mushrooms, or tuna, lobster bites, pastas, pork ribs, and assorted sweets. There were also a handful of cocktail specials, like a white peach Bellini. It was truly a sight to behold.

There's no word on whether this will be a yearly event, but we'd certainly be OK with that.