Editorial Review

Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and the rest of the Eataly crew outsmart us all by putting this casual yet high-end Italian eatery right where you'll be when all that food shopping leaves you hungry, exhausted, and in need of a drink. Grocery store location means plenty of ambient noise, but separated just enough to really sink into your chair and savor dishes like lobster with grapefruit, carpaccio of tenderloin, and veal chop smoked in hay. For those ready to splurge, there's the $75 beef tasting menu, with classic cuts like lifter steak (a.k.a. flat iron steak) as well as weird bits like grilled beef heart and calf's brain mezzalune with a oxtail ragu. The wine works.