CTF Ep 7 - Italian-American in one fell swoop: Mario Batali, Lidia & Joe Bastianich, Eataly & pizza
By Louisa Chu, Monica EngCTF Ep 7 - Italian-American in one fell swoop: Mario Batali, Lidia & Joe Bastianich, Eataly & pizza
By Louisa Chu, Monica EngThe recent opening of the massive Italian marketplace Eataly Chicago inspires this episode of Chewing the Fat. Louisa and Monica speak with principal partners and master chefs Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and Joe Bastianich (of MasterChef) about how their one-stop-super-shop of high quality (if highly-priced) Italian food, dining, teaching and more can compete in Chicago without trampling the smaller shops. They also talk about the Sicilian roots of Chicago’s deep dish pizza, and though Jon Stewart may think Chicago pizza sucks, Monica and Louisa give you their top places to catch a delicious slice — New York and Windy City style! Plus, will she eat tripe? The ladies bring in some offal done Italian style — tripe Florentine from Riccardo Trattoria, to be exact. It’s a plate for which the Chicago restaurant has received great accolades but… hey… it’s still a stomach! Will Monica and Louisa measure up to the Italian Challenge? That and more on this episode of Chewing the Fat.