Northern Light
Superstar
I popped by Eataly tonight, no line to get in, but very busy inside, most tables full and lines about 10-15m long at the Pizza and Gelato counters.,
I had a good look around, twice..........and bought a small amount before leaving..........I will review the sit-down options later, but discuss a range of product I had a good look at tonight now.
Produce: Most competitive price EVER on wild mushrooms in the City of Toronto, at $45 per kg. I have never seen them below $69 previously, and the current average is $79 across the City.
Good selection of Chanterelles, Hedgehogs, and Black Trumpets among others. Only program that rivals it in the City is Harvest Wagon, but the latter at notably higher prices.
Fresh Herbs were bundled loose w/o packages except for an elastic on each one. $1.90 each was a very fair price for the quality and portion.
Disappointing was the lettuces, at least 2 varieties of which were so wilted they should not have been on display for sale at all, I wouldn't have taken them home for free.
The salad packs were fine, but nothing local from Ontario.
Good selection of fresh peppers available in bulk, including 1 you rarely see in Toronto, Fresno Peppers (think red jalapeno, but a bit fruitier), and Shishito which is around in Toronto but usually in large bags, not sold by weight.
Meat: In some ways, a limited selection, very beef/veal centric; but some interesting offers. Chantecler Chicken is a different offer (but shouldn't be considering its a Canadian Breed); great dry-aging program, flat-iron among the less seen cuts here on offer. On the downside, the dry-aging program is a bit over priced for what it is; and the marbling in the strip steaks was poor.
Deli: Brilliant Selection of Prosciutto! Multiple varieties, priced accordingly, exceptional looking quality (didn't try tonight)
Fresh Pasta: A small selection, but all made on-site, today, picked up the Beef-Brisket Ravioli. One portion, 150grams was $6.40
I had that for dinner at home, serving it with a fresh tomato sauce, featuring pan-blistered cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, lightly caramelized onion, aged balsamic, fresh garlic, chillies and olive oil and finished with a just a bit of grated Reggiano Parm.
Superb! Worth every penny!
Dried Pasta: Range of prices depending on brand/size/format, overall slightly more pricey than it should be, but absolutely unbeatable selection in this category. Five different varieties of Squid-Ink Pasta (black pasta).
Countless shapes/sizes. Also lots of them in nests (portioned)
Dairy: Fairly normal for a high-end place, good range of full-fat (84% butter fat) butters; and multiple cultured/pasture raised varieties. Too pricey on some available cheaper at the Bloor Street Market.
Cheese: A very good selection of premium hard cheese and mozza, among others. But most noteworthy, I thought, was the depth of the blue cheese section. Also the hard cheeses are well priced for premium product.
Bread: Focused mostly on baked in-house, didn't buy any, selection was ok; have to say I did try the raisin bread on sample, fresh from the oven, I don't even care for raisin bread, but that was very good.
Miscellaneous; decently deep selection on Olive Oils, appears to be set up for tasting, but no sample cups out when I was there. Some good information on brands and geography on offer to the consumer as to how to select product.
Selection of tomato products (canned/jarred) was deep and varied, as was the pesto category, which included a pumpkin offering that intrigued. Prices were moderately high for what it was, but not brutal.
Truffles available fresh and in many canned varieties typically mixed w/porcinis and sauce/oil in order to lessen the price.
Chocolate and Cookies are both deep categories with a wide range of price points from $3 or so to many multiples higher.
***
Summing up, looks pretty good overall, looking forward to trying more of their product.
Needs some tweaks; value for money will vary widely, you need to know what you're looking at.
Also someone asked about walking around w/wine, I believe that is permissible, both because there is a non-table service bar, and because the person before me left an empty wine glass on the fresh pasta counter.....
I had a good look around, twice..........and bought a small amount before leaving..........I will review the sit-down options later, but discuss a range of product I had a good look at tonight now.
Produce: Most competitive price EVER on wild mushrooms in the City of Toronto, at $45 per kg. I have never seen them below $69 previously, and the current average is $79 across the City.
Good selection of Chanterelles, Hedgehogs, and Black Trumpets among others. Only program that rivals it in the City is Harvest Wagon, but the latter at notably higher prices.
Fresh Herbs were bundled loose w/o packages except for an elastic on each one. $1.90 each was a very fair price for the quality and portion.
Disappointing was the lettuces, at least 2 varieties of which were so wilted they should not have been on display for sale at all, I wouldn't have taken them home for free.
The salad packs were fine, but nothing local from Ontario.
Good selection of fresh peppers available in bulk, including 1 you rarely see in Toronto, Fresno Peppers (think red jalapeno, but a bit fruitier), and Shishito which is around in Toronto but usually in large bags, not sold by weight.
Meat: In some ways, a limited selection, very beef/veal centric; but some interesting offers. Chantecler Chicken is a different offer (but shouldn't be considering its a Canadian Breed); great dry-aging program, flat-iron among the less seen cuts here on offer. On the downside, the dry-aging program is a bit over priced for what it is; and the marbling in the strip steaks was poor.
Deli: Brilliant Selection of Prosciutto! Multiple varieties, priced accordingly, exceptional looking quality (didn't try tonight)
Fresh Pasta: A small selection, but all made on-site, today, picked up the Beef-Brisket Ravioli. One portion, 150grams was $6.40
I had that for dinner at home, serving it with a fresh tomato sauce, featuring pan-blistered cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, lightly caramelized onion, aged balsamic, fresh garlic, chillies and olive oil and finished with a just a bit of grated Reggiano Parm.
Superb! Worth every penny!
Dried Pasta: Range of prices depending on brand/size/format, overall slightly more pricey than it should be, but absolutely unbeatable selection in this category. Five different varieties of Squid-Ink Pasta (black pasta).
Countless shapes/sizes. Also lots of them in nests (portioned)
Dairy: Fairly normal for a high-end place, good range of full-fat (84% butter fat) butters; and multiple cultured/pasture raised varieties. Too pricey on some available cheaper at the Bloor Street Market.
Cheese: A very good selection of premium hard cheese and mozza, among others. But most noteworthy, I thought, was the depth of the blue cheese section. Also the hard cheeses are well priced for premium product.
Bread: Focused mostly on baked in-house, didn't buy any, selection was ok; have to say I did try the raisin bread on sample, fresh from the oven, I don't even care for raisin bread, but that was very good.
Miscellaneous; decently deep selection on Olive Oils, appears to be set up for tasting, but no sample cups out when I was there. Some good information on brands and geography on offer to the consumer as to how to select product.
Selection of tomato products (canned/jarred) was deep and varied, as was the pesto category, which included a pumpkin offering that intrigued. Prices were moderately high for what it was, but not brutal.
Truffles available fresh and in many canned varieties typically mixed w/porcinis and sauce/oil in order to lessen the price.
Chocolate and Cookies are both deep categories with a wide range of price points from $3 or so to many multiples higher.
***
Summing up, looks pretty good overall, looking forward to trying more of their product.
Needs some tweaks; value for money will vary widely, you need to know what you're looking at.
Also someone asked about walking around w/wine, I believe that is permissible, both because there is a non-table service bar, and because the person before me left an empty wine glass on the fresh pasta counter.....
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