Yesterday I visited Eataly at the Manulife Centre. The Manulife $100 million dollar renovation is on display, mostly. There are still sections under construction, but it is shiny and bright, full of white marble walls and floors. I wonder if they are the same marble or if it is new marble. It has the same pristine appeal. I wonder where Ashley's is when I look left and remember it's just down the street now in the Colonnade. I took a 'virtual walk down Bloor Street' with this 2018 update from Urban Retail HERE. It is easy to understand now how the streetscape has changed and continues to change - everything has been up for renovation.
What I wanted to experience is Eataly - the new food emporium that has Toronto buzzing. It is massive (50,000 square feet (with 4 restaurants, 7 eateries and 3 bars) and amazing (10,000 local and imported). My check on locally-sourced products was positive.
As we move into a time of attention to climate change and travel, Eataly offers the visitor an Italian experience. No need to take a long plane trip to Italy to see Italian food or shop Italian. The copper pots in the entrance form the shape of Italy if you stand at the entrance below. It boasts being the largest Italian marketplace in the world. It certainly feels that way. I circled around a few times enjoying more each time. It was early in the day before the crowds of lunch, so everything was accessible and viewable. Lots of staff making things orderly (300 people employed). People were at the espresso bars enjoying a chat.
There is still more to see and experience there. It is a perfect match for Bloor Street West. Holt Renfrew across the street is undergoing a big external facelift. Must keep up with Eataly.
If one has an overwhelm experience while there and can't decide on what to buy - here's an articleon the 12 foods to buy at Eataly Toronto.
How did pasta get so many shapes and names? Italy is the current champion of pasta, but the oldest archaeological finding of pasta was in China with grain that was grown more than 7,000 years ago.
Penne and fusilli can hold more sauces because of their hollow shapes. That makes sense. But then other choices are due to tradition and habits. Wikipedia's display follows the shape and purpose categories. Long-and medium length pasta, short-cut pasta, soup pasta, pasta with filling, and finally gnocchi and gnocchetti.
I have to admit that when I consider pasta, it is all about how much sauce it can hold. And Eataly's website encourages that perception with beautiful pictures of pasta covered in sauce and grated cheese.
Now that we have a Toronto Eataly, we can check out pasta there. The website home page invites us into the story of La Pasta Di Gragnono and its history and traditions. The stories of pasta traditions are charming and interesting - my sense is that one should steep oneself in the history and traditions of Italy's regions, and then pasta will come to life rather than being a selection of shapes and sizes on a shelf.
An entirely different option is to check out the really cute pasta jokes:
What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta!
Did you hear about the Italian chef who died? He pasta way!
Where does pasta go to dance? The meatball!
What’s the dress code at the pasta convention? Bowtie!
My wife thinks I’m an idiot because I’m building my own car out of spaghetti, macaroni and fusilli. She won't be laughing when I drive pasta!
Here are a few pictures from our visit to the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls.
