Eataly NYC Flatiron

"The Disney World of food. Makes me feel like I'm back at FAO Swartz, twenty some-odd years ago. Pick your flavor, literally– homemade everything imported fresh from where people care about what they package and sell as food. If you get bored, they are around 17 (more like 5) restaurants right there to entertain you. The rooftop beer garden also doesn't hurt." - Anti/Anti

"Yes, Eataly IS overrun with tourists in the middle of the day, but there are two quick lunch options you should know about: the panini stand, and the rotisserie stand, where you can get a prime rib sandwich as well as a sandwich of the day. Plan to nap after lunch if you go for the prime rib." - hillary reinsberg

"It’s not a surprise that Eataly, the bustling mecca of Italian foods and ingredients, is also a prime location for those in search of an introduction to great panettone. Carrying ten lines of panettone and pandoro in a total of fifty distinct offerings, the Italian marketplace has nearly every variety of panettone and pandoro, from the tall alto to the wide basso versions. Intrepid shoppers can find award-winning, high-end, artisanal brands like Olivieri 1882, —a recommendation for panettone connoisseurs — as well as a collaboration with Italian bakery Bonifanti, which features an Eataly-specified recipe carried exclusively by the stores; the latter is reasonably priced and punches above its weight." - John Tsung

"Eataly is a specialty grocery store in that it sells a big variety of high-quality, small-batch products from specially-sourced producers. It’s not, however, a specialty grocery store in terms of focusing on one, two, or 50 types of goods. Both the Flatiron and FiDi locations of this national mini-chain have multiple football field-sized floors filled with butcher cases of Piedmontese beef, cheese counters full of fresh mozzarella, and various sections for housemade pastas and 100 different types of extra virgin olive oil." - hannah albertine, nikko duren

"There are now 35 locations of Eataly, the massive Italian food hall, around the world, with 18 of them in Italy itself. The New York City one at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, which opened in 2010, was the first in the United States (it's been joined by others in Boston , Chicago , and Los Angeles , as well as by a second outpost in Manhattan, near the World Trade Center site at 101 Liberty Street). For connoisseurs of all things Italian, this is a must-visit—or, more accurately, a must-shop and must-eat stop. Covering more than 50,000 square feet, Eataly NYC Flatiron includes five different restaurants (plus occasional pop-ups) offering opportunities to graze on antipasti, fish, pizza, and other dishes. A popular rooftop beer hall is open all year round (thanks to space heaters and a retractable roof). While you will want to eat your gelato on the spot, there are also a number of stores where you can buy gifts from biscotti to olive oils to take home a little bit of Italy via New York."