Eataly - Century City

♩ ♬ " When you crave something right after wet pizza pie… That’s amaro… " ♪ ♫

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Finally actually ATE something at Eataly today. Can someone explain to me why the porchetta sandwich has potato chips INSIDE the sandwich? Is that normal?

I have no idea, but maybe the Italian version of that old Israeli standby of schnitzel and french fries in pita?

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I have seen that before to provide texture in a shrimp po boy utilizing grilled shrimp.

Yes, I was under the impression that they included the potato chips b/c there was otherwise (as far as I could tell) no appreciable amount of crackly skin. In fact, I honestly felt as though I were eating a fancy ham sandwich…

Yikes. Avoid the roast chicken sandwich at the Rosticceria. Super dry with very little flavor.

Because most sandwiches taste better with the addition of potato chips! :wink: My guess is it’s a play on porchetta and potatoes, which is a traditional pairing. But I like your suggestion it’s to replicate the crispy skin of the pig.

The version here is a cold cut, so no crispy skin. As you observed, it tastes similar to ham. I think the difference is ham is traditionally from the pig’s leg, whereas porchetta comes from all over the pig.

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Ah, thanks for the information. I remember seeing the employee adding potatos chips out of the corner of my eye and thinking, “I must be seeing things…” and then, after opening the sandwich, thinking, “Or apparently I was not…”

At $8.80, I didn’t feel ripped off. But I also can’t say that I’m dying to go back to try more food, either.

Went down to Bacio di Latte and had a very fine small cup of hazelnut and raspberry gelato, which makes everything better. :slight_smile:

bookwich, that is why i don’t eat fast food.
i can find plenty of ways to get sad that don’t involve the consumption of calories.
if i’m going to consume calories, i want pleasure/happiness to be the result.

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Stopped by Eataly after work tonight around 7:00 p.m. for a piece of Roman pizza. While I have been a big booster of Eataly’s Roman pizza, tonight it was not good. I got the Margherita, which is what I usually get. It had one sad tasteless piece of basil and it was missing the fruity olive oil taste that usually makes it so enjoyable. Today was a carb craving day and I had also stopped by Eataly after lunch for one of their puff pastry things with apricot, and thankfully that is still delicious (and I am very fussy about those kinds of things).

At 7:00 p.m., there was only a short line for the pizza and pasta restaurant and the fish restaurant was pretty dead with no wait at all. I suspect now that Terra has opened on the rooftop, it has stolen the thunder from the fish restaurant for those who want a more upscale dining experience than offered by the pizza and pasta restaurant. I checked out the Terra menu and there were two or three fresh grilled fishes on offer, as well as seafood pasta, so people who love fish as I do can definitely get their fish fix at Terra (no crudo though).

I poked my head in Terra to check it out and also to find out what the corkage is. The corkage is $45, with $10 discount if the wine comes from the Eataly wine store. They either really, really don’t want you to bring your own wine, or corkage has gone up from the usual $30 price I am used to paying around town. Has anyone eaten at Terra? I am supposed to go later this week, but may need to cancel.

On another subject, the whole mall seemed dead. There are so many stores, restaurants and food kiosks at the mall, with duplicative offerings (with so many stores and food places yet to open) that I cannot begin to imagine how they can all survive. The rich Chinese prefer Rodeo Ave. and I think locals either shop online or don’t want to deal with the hassle of the mall. I can’t imagine that we Century City office denizens can support all the stores at that mall.

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I think the food places will be fine. The mall’s being dead at 7pm on a Monday night isn’t that surprising. It’s definitely hopping when I stop by for lunch or on a weekend.

The retail shops, however, are a different story. Even when the mall is packed, I rarely see people actually shopping in the stores. I share your skepticism they’ll be able to survive.

Not to be vulgar, but what a clusterduck. Although I got some amazing cheese. Very amazing, I’ll update tomorrow because I also had some very nice wines.

(Pro-tip: Skate around the line of people waiting for a table, go directly to the bar, let the man know you plan on tasting [whatever] cheese, and he will take care of you.)

I bonked my head on the low-hanging meat twice, and when I reached up to see if it was real, my greasy fingers confirmed it was. :slight_smile:
IMG_6057

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#hamhair
#hamhelmet
#hamhelmethair

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Brown food is so hard to photograph.

The left is the mushroom pizza, as intended. The right is my revised version, where I used my ninja skills to remove the cheese. The mushrooms are generous and incredibly flavorful. I didn’t taste the bread part yet because they only have “potato” forks and knives, so I’m taking it home.

What is with all the drunk people wandering around with wine glasses and lounging at the pastry and cheese counters? Too funny. I just want a cream puff!

I’m in a love-hate relationship with Eataly. I’ll let you know how it goes. :slight_smile:

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Lushes! The lot of ye!

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This breaks my heart, a little. I assume you also picked off any evidence of garlic? :wink:

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Lol, I ask which have garlic, then order the other ones. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

(The pizza wasn’t hot, and the cold melted mozzarella was interfering with the really great mushrooms underneath. So I get a pass on this one. :slight_smile: )

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Okay, I’ll give you that one. :wink:

I’ve had the porchetta sandwich @ both NYC and Chicago Eataly (albeit not recently) and don’t recall any chips inside.

No idea. But I thought this sandwich tasted like sadness.

Bread: leathery chew with little flavor and too dense of a crumb.
Porchetta: cold-cut style so could only hope to be meh in a sandwich.
Salsa Verde: Good, but too sparse.
Potato Chips: did little for me in this context. The sandwich needs moisture and acid, not texture.

Eataly is all about the cheese and cured meats selection for me. They have stuff no one else is foolish enough to stock. Perhaps 2-3 items from the produce section is thrilling, too. Everything else so far has been meh for me, though I haven’t looked at the wine selection yet.

Yup, that was my impression, as well.

Haven’t had a chance to look at those sections, but Andrew’s Cheeseshop is easier to access for me, and Bristol Farms seems to have decent cheeses.