Thanks Bitter, I've never been to the French Market, planned to go but just never made it. I like coming in on the train, so I will make a point to check it out now. I'm glad you're still posting on this thread.

I had posted earlier in the year, and am finally making a trip downtown to check out Eataly on June 7. I'll definitely be trying the gelato, along with either pizza or the foccacia sandwiches.

I agree the French Market is worth a visit. Here's my "trip report" from 2011:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

SusanM, I read your pastrami trip report, and lo and behold I had posted on it. So funny to read as I was at the Dane County Farmer's Market today. Oh wow, was it crowded. I did not buy pastrami, but did buy......drumroll....cheese curds. I was in Wisconsin after all.

I am planning to check out the French Market this summer. Hope you enjoy the gelato at Eataly.

I've been to Italy in Turin (I think that's the home of the original Eataly, not sure) and was actually less impressed than I thought I would be. It wasn't all that special -- which is not a dig against Eataly as much as a hooray to all the food halls.markets that have opened with an emphasis on fresh, hopefully locally-sourced food, and on non-hurried, well-prepared meals with quality ingredients.

To be honest, some of the PA Dutch food markets I went to growing up weren't all that different to the Eataly food shopping experience in terms of meeting with local producers/vendors who believed that good food starts with fresh ingredients and is worth the time it takes to cook properly. Of course, PA Dutch cuisine and Italian cuisine are VERY different, but their core values are similar.

Barbrn, I'm going up to WI on June 20 to take my mom to an eye appointment. It's on a Friday, and I plan to spend the night just so I can go to the Dane County Farmers' Market the next day. I never made it there last summer, so I need my fix! It's always extremely crowded, but you learn to deal. When my dad was alive his way to deal with it was to go at 6 am. I'd rather battle the crowds around 10:00 myself.

Thanks for the link SusanM.

The one in NY has turned into a tourist attraction. It is convenient in a way, but we are lucky enough to have other stores that surpass Eatlaly. I went there a few days after it opened and Mario Batali was standing in his full royal dress of bermudas and orange clogs being quite gracious to passers by. One woman yelled, "Hey Mario, got angel hair in the place?" He pointed with a smile.

So I made it down yesterday. It was a beautiful day, and we started with people watching at Millennium park. Zumba in the park was in progress at the Pritzker Pavilion, so there was lively background music while we watched people watching the Bean, then watched people watching their kids playing in the fountain.

We moved on to Eataly for lunch and arrived shortly before noon. With $20 in receipts we parked free across the street at State and Ohio. It was pretty much as we expected it to be, a mixture of retail offerings and dining options. I had a mortadella and mozzarella paninni, chocolate gelato, and a pastry to take home. And yes, it was crowded, but that was OK. Crazy road construction aside, it was a pleasant trip downtown.