Birreria at Eataly

We showed up hungry and thirsty, ready to pig out at Eataly, Mario Batali's new joint, per Richard Narramore's recommendation for a new, creative and delicious Italian experience in New York City, across the street from the Flatiron Building. Eataly was swarming with locals, tourists, foreigners all wining, dining and shopping for all things Italian, expensive, gourmet and fabulous. 

Birreria, one of the restaurants of Eataly, is a sneaky little brewery serving fantastic gourmet pub food and homegrown organic beer on a retractable roof deck in the Flatiron District. In order to get to the back stairway leading up to Birreria, we had to literally elbow our way through the mobs of walking traffic on Eataly's main floor. The place was slammed.

Bierreria beers are artisanal beers that are brewed in house in this very room. Beers are fermented in casks and naturally carbonated, served straight, unfiltered and unpasteurized. Our server temped us with samples as soon as we sat down.

House Brewed Ales, $10 each.  Barista, Wanda, Gina...

Speck, $11.  Slices of smoked prosciutto from Alto-Aldige were razor thin, salty and ridiculously buttery. Insanely delicious.

Insalata Cotta Cruda, $13.  Romaine, artichoke, potato, roasted onion, cauliflower, red cabbage, cucumbers, olives, capers, red wine vinaigrette.

Cavolo Nero con Salsa, $10.  Kale craze was still on and we loved every bite of this. Chopped kale, grapefruit, pomegranate, poppy seed frico and anchovy vinaigrette.

Maitake con Percorino Sardo, $15.  Whole, uncut bundles of roasted maitake mushrooms, percorino sardo crema and roasted brussels sprouts. Ridiculously large, intensely flavorful and nutty funghi.

Pork Shoulder in Beer and Apricot, $19.  Beer-braised and glazed pork shoulder served with celery, cucumber, persimmon and mustard vinaigrette. The mustard seeds added a glorious tobiko-like pop to every bite. This was big and fantastic, sugary and fruity.

Quaglia con Finocchio, $22.  These gorgeous birds, from Manchester Farms, were marinated in honey flavors and seared flat on both sides. Underneath was Sambuca braised fennel. The quail was extremely tender and juicy with crisp caramelized skin. Some of the best quail I've ever had. I loved this unusual dog-pile stack of three headless quail.

And this aerial angle shows off broad breasts and robust thighs :)

I dig black subway tile wainscot with grey grout, especially when they are in large spacious public bathrooms.

Open skylights reveal a magical bluebird day and a perfect peek of the Empire State Building.

xoxo