Bragging rights, instas, etc. I suspect those are serious currency in some quarters.

AoD

LOL. how sad.

I'm already the one everyone in my circle asks about where to eat; which is flattering, to a point.

But I manage that w/o instas, LOL

Also, I don't care; and that's probably why I know most of the cool spots, because I'm discovering them for me; not merely following the latest Blog TO post....LOL (not to say they don't have the odd good tip......)
 
LOL. how sad.

I'm already the one everyone in my circle asks about where to eat; which is flattering, to a point.

But I manage that w/o instas, LOL

Also, I don't care; and that's probably why I know most of the cool spots, because I'm discovering them for me; not merely following the latest Blog TO post....LOL (not to say they don't have the odd good tip......)

If you are Chris Nuttall-Smith you've got to let me know :p

AoD
 
I walked by last night a little while after the “free stuff” hours and the queue still stretched around from the Bloor entrance well onto Balmuto.
 
I walked by last night a little while after the “free stuff” hours and the queue still stretched around from the Bloor entrance well onto Balmuto.
This photo is from 10:13am. Eataly has been well and open for at least an hour now. The place was busy, but there wasn’t a lineup just after 9am either. The only lineup I saw was a small one of 10 or so at the ground floor coffee bar.

The lines will be there at peak times (for the next little while), but those complaining about them is like people crowing about how crowded Disneyland is when you booked your vacation for March Break.

That all said, prices are lower than expected on many things, and on par in many cases with Bloor Street Market. This won’t be good for them.


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And morons are lining up for hours. As usual.
For the record, the line looked long, but it moved fast from my account. It was only 20 minutes. Had to do with a capacity thing. They were great and kept everyone warm with free hot drinks and snacks. Very well organized.
 
This is a forum where people will trudge through rain and snow to go look at a piece of glass being attached to the side of a building, but where lining up for a new restaurant or store is unacceptable? LOL

I say let people be excited about stuff they want to be excited about.
 
This is a forum where people will trudge through rain and snow to go look at a piece of glass being attached to the side of a building, but where lining up for a new restaurant or store is unacceptable? LOL

I say let people be excited about stuff they want to be excited about.
This is one of my favourite comments ever. Thank you @DavidCapizzano!
 
This is a forum where people will trudge through rain and snow to go look at a piece of glass being attached to the side of a building, but where lining up for a new restaurant or store is unacceptable? LOL

I say let people be excited about stuff they want to be excited about.

Not just every piece of glass, mind you. Standards and all that.

AoD
 
I was at Eataly around 2.30 pm today. There was no line to get in. Inside, it was busy, but not annoyingly so. They’re on 3 floors, although at least 80% of the space is on the second floor. There’s a brewery in the basement and coffee bar on the first floor - everything else is upstairs. You generally move in a clockwise direction once you get to the second floor, and follow a single path that goes around the floor, IKEA-style, until you’re back at the escalators, passing through several restaurants, stalls selling gelati and cannoli, another coffee bar, a wine bar, a grocery section, including fresh fruits and vegetables and separate meat and seafood counters.

The decor is unremarkable, other than the pots and pans hanging in the atrium. Prices are in line with similar places like the Pusateri food hall at Saks or Coppa’s. I don’t know why the media made it sound as if it were a champagne and caviar place - you don’t have to be rich to buy $2.90 - $6.90 slices of pizza or $11-14 panini. There are a lot of Italians working there, maybe temporary staff brought in from their Italian outlets. The biggest difference from the other Eataly I’ve been too (Chicago and Bologna) is I didn’t see guests walking around the store sipping wine they bought at the enoteca - maybe that’s not allowed here?

Gran Caffe (first floor)

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Pots and pans in the atrium (visible from main entrance)

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Exterior shot

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I shopped there at around 4 pm today. No line-up, quite busy inside of course. I was quite impressed with the produce and dry goods selection, including gluten-free pasta and panettone. I find it a lot more compelling than McEwen. And of course, the fresh meat and fish are welcome after that product category was severely degraded at Bloor St. Market.
 

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