Eataly stresses importance of quality food products
There are rumors of a special marketplace coming to Los Angeles.
But let’s back up.
Once upon a time, there was a marketplace in Turin, Italy. It was called Eataly, and it was the groundbreaking project of Oscar Farinetti, a man who believed quality products should be available to everyone. 
This marketplace was noticed 3,970 miles away by three culinary juggernauts: Mario Batali and his partners Joe and Lidia Bastianich.
The trio had enjoyed many successful ventures before, with the Batali-Bastianich Hospitality Group pumping out acclaimed restaurants in New York and Las Vegas, among other locales.
Inspired, the group birthed another Eataly. This time, it descended upon the Flatiron district of New York.
But you see, Eataly wasn’t an ordinary marketplace. This particular marketplace was something else, something truly marvelous to behold.
A veritable temple to Italian cuisine with 10 different eateries, its emphases ranged from fish to pasta to chocolates.
Not only that, but the 50,000 square-foot marketplace also upheld one important motto: “We cook what we sell and we sell what we cook.”
And so it cooked and sold a smorgasbord of fascinating and fresh ingredients: wine and beer, salami and cheese, bread, meat, seafood, fresh and dry pastas, sweets, coffees, olive oils, vinegars, produce, housewares — the list goes on.
Predictably, it was a success. To this day, lines stretch out the door. And now, according to Eater LA, the Los Angeles division of the national food and nightlife blog, Joe Bastianich, of B&B Hospitality Group, has revealed to an “Eater operative” his plans to open Eataly around the West Hollywood area.
As one Eater LA commenter put it, “mind. exploding.”
If you enjoy eating food, this is very exciting news. After all, there’s not really this kind of serious food destination in Los Angeles, a place where you can legitimately spend an entire day eating and shopping in a mecca of everything Italian and delicious.
If it’s possible to get geeked out on food, this is it.
But frankly, the most exciting part about it isn’t that foodies will have a place to drool over. In fact, Eataly isn’t something that necessarily works on paper in this still-weak economy.
A high-end marketplace, featuring lots of gourmet products and gourmet food in a country where buying wholesale and fast food reign supreme seems unlikely.
Eataly NY pulled it off. And in the process, it did something even more impressive: It gave everyone, not just diehard food lovers, a chance to be awed and inspired by the beauty of quality food and quality ingredients.
Those who care about food have been saying it all along: quality, quality, quality.
Oftentimes this involves buying small, local purveyors or from growers, butchers and fishmongers who have a burning passion for their product and only choose to serve the best to customers. But it can get expensive.
If there’s anything the gourmet coffee generation has taught us, however, it’s that people can get used to, and appreciate, the higher costs of specialty products.
Many students probably don’t think twice about consuming a $3 or $4 macchiatto these days, even if it racks up a hefty tab in the long run.
Why? It’s not only the flavor, but understanding the benefits of free trade coffee and supporting employees who, at least in theory, feel good about choosing something better, not just something cheaper.
It’s not a far path from this to start to enjoy better meats, produce and the like, which is exactly the kind of thing a place like Eataly can encourage.
What Batali and the Bastianichs have brought to the United States is incredible.
It is an all-encompassing experience where you can have a great dish and then realize, ‘Hey, I can buy that prosciutto di parma and those watermelon radishes right here and try making it myself.’
It’s that little spark of wonderment that just might make someone want to seriously eat better more often. And hell, I can’t think of anything more inspiring than 50,000 square feet of straight-up deliciousness.
Eataly LA might only be in the planning stages, but I can’t help but hope it becomes a reality.
Eddie Kim is a sophomore majoring in print journalism. His column, “Food As Life,” runs Thursdays.