Eataly, a Manhattan venture of Mario Batali,  Lidia Bastanich and and Oscar Farinetti, is described as the "largest high-quality food market in the world. ''The massive mall is home to restaurants, cafes, sandwich shops and food stores with an emphasis on Italian. The original Eataly, in Turin, Italy, opened in 2007; there are other stores in Italy, and Tokyo.

PHOTO; Rotisserie chicken sandwich shop at Eataly, Mario Batali and Lydia Bastanich's new venture in New York City, described as the "largest high-quality food market in the world.'' The massive 43,000-square-foot space is home to restaurants, cafes, sandwich shops and food stores with an emphasis on Italian. 
The challenge at Eataly, the Italian food superstore in New York City, is not so much where you should start shopping or eating but when " or if " you can stop.

Forty-thousand-plus square feet of restaurants; food stands; cheese, meat and fish counters; a 1,000-bottle wine shop and shelves stocked with an Italian food lover?s vision of the pearly gates, with Mario Batali standing in for St. Peter ? will do that to you.

Oh, did we mention the food events and cooking classes and wine tastings, held regularly, and the rooftop brew pub/beer garden, La Birreria, scheduled to open early next year?

"Amazing," Dana Saraniero of Setauket, N.Y., said after several hours in Eataly.

"Unbelievable," added her friend Annmarie Zaccaro of Lindenhurst, N.Y. 

Silvia Lindemann  "Silvia from Hamburg," as she called herself -  had arrived on a flight from Germany that morning. She was enjoying a gelato from the gelateria. Carmelina Plewa of Huntington, Conn., was finishing up a cheese and meat sampler at La Piazza, not to be confused with La Pizza, a pizzeria that shares counter space and tables with La Pasta, which offers dried pasta and pasta dishes.

If you don?t know the difference between a pasticceria (pastry shop) and a paninoteca (sandwich shop), or a salumeria (deli) and formaggeria (cheese shop), don?t worry, just follow your eyes ? or nose.

"This is a place where you can just explore food," Krista Ruane said at a cheese/meat counter. "I heard there are 12 (kinds) of anchovies here."

The Maplewood resident is Batali?s food stylist; she was picking up mortadella and other items for a Batali-hosted Asphalt Chef event at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

"My first time here, shockingly," Ruane said, as she awaited her order.

All of New York City, or so it seems, has already walked through the glass doors of the massive food market, which opened Aug. 31. The original Eataly, in Turin, Italy, opened in 2007; there are other stores in Italy, and Tokyo. The New York store is a collaboration among Batali, Italian cookbook author and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich, her son, Joe Bastianich; and Oscar Farinetti, who is known as the "patron of high-quality foods" in Italy.

The Manhattan Eataly is a continuous culinary floor show ? a sous chef at Il Pesce, the seafood restaurant, drizzling olive oil on a steaming pot of mussels; bread makers sliding loaves into a state-of-the-art wood-burning oven; Nick Basile, who works in the Turin Eataly, deftly slicing boulder-sized blocks of Grana Padano cheese. 

"This cheese you cannot cut when it?s cold," Basile explained. "When it?s cold, it?s like wood."

Adam Saper, a managing partner and CFO of Eataly, said he had "nightmares" before the store opened "that we?d be empty, there?d be too much space."

Not to worry; a recent midweek visit found the sprawling marketplace packed, with biggest crowds during lunchtime and after work.

The recession was actually a blessing for the $20 million project.

"The economic downturn enabled us to be in great real estate," said Saper, referring to the space, at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, that was part of the Toy Building.

Although Saper?s favorite part of Eataly is the rotisserie (whole chickens, plus lamb, prime rib and other sandwiches), he takes particular pride in the homemade bread.

"For a city the size of New York, I can name only four or five good bakeries," he said.

The restaurants on premises include Manzo Ristorante, the most formal dining experience; Il Pesce; Le Verdure, with Italian style vegetable dishes; La Pizza and La Pasta, which share an open dining room, and La Piazza.
 

Munchmobile's Pete Genovese devours Eataly New York Munchmobile's Pete Genovese eats his way through Eataly New York. The 50,000 square-foot Italian marketplace features artisanal Italian cuisine and fine wine. (Video by Adya Beasley / The Star-Ledger) Watch video 

Temptation, in the form of packaged, canned or jarred goods, appears at every turn. The imported pasta section alone could be its own store. Other shelves are stocked with Italian olive oils, Italian canned tomatoes, Italian sauces, Italian teas, Italian jams and ? well, you get the idea.

If you come to Eataly to shop, not eat, pick up one of the translucent-blue shopping carts made of recycled water bottles at the entrance. The cart?s retro-futuristic looks may remind you of George Jetson-meets-Mad Max. Often the loose-wheeled cart seemed to have a mind of its own; a shopping basket is more manageable, especially in tight spaces.

One sign informs shoppers that "the rest rooms, naturally, are near the beer," while another quotes Sophia Loren: "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." 

Saper would later turn into impromptu tour guide, making sure his visitors didn?t miss anything.

"You haven?t spent any time here until you?ve explored our vegetables," he said, pointing out buddha hands (a tangy citrus), sea beans, English peas, a dozen kinds of mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves, baby pineapples, purple potatoes and more in the produce section, just inside the front door. 

"We have everything from basic to crazy," Saper said.

There?s even a "vegetable butcher," a counter where you can have your veggies cut, sliced, trimmed ? at no charge.

Dave Pasternack, dubbed the Fish Whisperer for his cooking at Esca, a New York City restaurant, took a moment to explain the philosophy at Il Pesce, which he oversees.

"We do a lot of raw fish, what Italians call crudo (raw fish dressed with olive oil, salt and citrus juice)," Pasternack said. "We want to turn Americans on to eating a fish whole."

So how is life as a high-profile chef?

"Sometimes it?s great, sometimes you want to kill someone," he replied, smiling only slightly.

At the pastry counter, Zaccaro and Saraniero were already planning their next visit.

"It?s a New York version of what Italy is," Saraniero said.

"There?s a fat woman in me dying to get out," said the trim Zaccaro. "Of course we?re coming back."

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