Mushrooms and Noodles, Eataly and The Bronx

Eataly, in New York City, is ugly beautiful. Cuccinaglam is distracting, but, don't let the TV Food Network energy ruin it for you. Eataly is a serious market. It’s a great place to spend a few hours wandering, eating and shopping and if you'd like, drinking. Resist the glitz, the precious packaging; and remember that you can buy many of these items at small, independent, family owned and operated grocery stores. You remember before Obama became a Republican, he kept talking about the moms and pops, about "Main Street"? (The ones who got him elected?) Barack's golfing with Boehner, but let's keep shopping on Main Street. We promised, so that makes one of us.

Outer Boro suggestion: Arthur Avenue in the Bronx:

Calabria Pork Store, Arthur Ave., The Bronx
(Walk with Pride)

Teitel Brothers, Borgatti’s and Casa della Mozzarella. Half Moon Pizza. The indoor market! The Calabria Pork Store. Oh … go eat at Roberto’s – but try to go during the week if you don't want to wait. It's so good, but bring money.

For some, the Bronx is a whole other situation. I love it.

Pour yourself a glass of wine and spend 10 minutes with this:

Back to Eataly:
I was lucky to get a cook's tour of Eataly from a friend who loves everything about food. From his small NYC kitchen, Rick regularly prepares sit-down dinners for 30. He’s taught me that you don’t need many ingredients to make great eats. In a recent letter to me, making fun of paraphrasing my personal email signature, he closed with: Care, live well, work for peace and when there's nothing to make in the house throw a little pancetta from the freezer into a sauté pan with some oil, boil up some pasta, throw a bunch of rosemary sprigs in at the end and call it dinner.

When you go to Eataly, even if you’re not going to buy anything, grab a shopping cart. They’re fun to push, well designed and they're made of recycled plastic bottles. These are the Ferrari Smart Cars of shopping carts. (Uh, Whole Foods, attenzione.) 

Okay: northwest corner for dried pasta and if you hit the jackpot, you’ll meet Nick Coleman, the market’s own olive oil guru. He guided us through an interesting tasting. 

Go to: fresh fish, butchered meat, and produce. 

photo Rick Bernstein
liver makes me gag, but these veal shanks look pretty sharp

In produce I found: mushroom varieties of high quality, great prices and both made me a happy shopper.

There are pretty packages and very beautiful bottles to admire but why get 'em when you can snap a picture?  

photo Rick Bernstein

The book shop stop (near the bathrooms!) is a good idea – it’s always fun to look before you go to Amazon.  Next time, I want to visit the newly opened beer garden on the roof. 

Here’s what you don’t want: Italian beer for $49, an entire department of Alessi gadgets I know they’re sponsors, but these housewares make it feel more like Ikeataly – so, Mario, why not kick it up a notch? Pepper grinders with ears aren't fun anymore.

I wanted the breads to be over the top, but they looked just “ very good” – (which isn’t so bad).

Truth is, I can’t wait to go back. 

Eataly

200 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 (map)
newyork.eataly.it

Mushrooms and Mushroom Noodles

Mushrooms and Mushroom Noodles
Blue Heron Kitchen

A recipe for a MEvening, inspired by a trip to NYC’s Eataly, noodles and cheese from the Bronx, and the brilliant coping strategy, as modeled by my beautiful daughter, Captain Kitchen

Mushrooms from Eataly and noodles from Borgatti’s on Arthur Ave. in the Bronx. I’m devoted to this store.

Borgatti's is about as far from Eataly as you can get. Beyond distance, it's simple, unpretentious and inexpensive. Open the door and walk in: the smell of the store is worth the visit. Go.

Noodles, not pasta. Noodles are personal.

Ingredients:

Sliced, mixed mushrooms (I used Maitake, Shitake, Cremini and plain, old, White Buttons)

Grilled Asparagus (if you feel like it and I did)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Excellent quality anchovy fillets (don’t tell me you don’t like anchovies.)

Fresh garlic

Freshly chopped rosemary

Freshly chopped sage

Freshly chopped parsley (for serving)

Red wine

Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, to taste

Coarse salt and grated black pepper, to taste

Procedure:

Pour yourself a glass of wine.

If you’re adding asparagus, grill them chop them up and set them aside.

Slice the mushrooms.

Chop together: anchovies, garlic, rosemary, sage

chopped anchovies, garlic, sage and rosemary (scratch and sniff)

Have some water coming up to a boil for your noodles. You’ve cooked noodles before, so you can do this. Make sure to put loads of salt in the water. Don’t overcook the noodles. You didn’t plan a GRievening.

Have the Parmigiano and ready to Microplane Zest (grate), or, if you’re a mis-en-place-r (no judgment), you can pre-grate.

Put some olive oil in a sauté pan and warm it.

Add the chopped anchovy/herb mixture and sauté for a few minutes. (the aroma is Creed-worthy)

Dump in the sliced mushrooms and turn heat to medium high, stirring until mushrooms

   begin to lose liquid. Keep heat at medium/high.

Add some red wine (to the pan and to your glass) and continue to cook.

Throw in chopped asparagus.

Keep it hot and high, cuoco fantastico.

Remove from heat when you like how it smells, looks, feels and tastes. Don't let your stufato di funghi go zoppicare. (try google translate)

By now, your noodles are cooked and waiting.

Add (generous amounts of) grated Parmigiano and lots of twists of freshly grated black pepper and coarse salt.

Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley.

And finally, if you haven't already spent an hour and half reading this and aren't completely annoyed, here's a little opera from a gorgeous market: Mercado Central de Valencia in Italy.
peace, love, noodles and music ... tutti in buona salute,

jane