Eatdrink #81 January/February 2020
The LOCAL Food & Drink Magazine serving London, Stratford & Southwestern Ontario since 2007
The LOCAL Food & Drink Magazine serving London, Stratford & Southwestern Ontario since 2007
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26 | <strong>January</strong>/<strong>February</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
You can sip<br />
Italian wine,<br />
a Negroni,<br />
Aperol<br />
Spritz or<br />
other Italian<br />
aperitivo<br />
while you<br />
shop, peruse<br />
the aisles<br />
or partake<br />
in a tasting<br />
or cooking<br />
class. There<br />
is seating<br />
La Scuola (Cooking School) for 400 in<br />
the three<br />
restaurants. A fourth, Trattoria Milano, will<br />
open soon on the main floor next to Il Gran<br />
Caffé, an upscale full-service coffee bar from<br />
Italian coffee roaster illy. The ground floor<br />
caffé offers high-quality coffee-based drinks,<br />
confectionery, panini, and a selection of<br />
Italian wines, beer and spirits.<br />
There are multiple market counters,<br />
including a butcher, a baker, a cheesemonger,<br />
eatdrink.ca |@eatdrinkmag<br />
fresh mozzarella counter, olive oil and<br />
balsamico tasting bar, and fresh pasta and<br />
pizza counters. There are also fruit and<br />
vegetable stands in the food emporium. Eataly<br />
features several bars, a cooking school and<br />
an in-house brewery (in partnership with<br />
Toronto’s Indie Alehouse Brewing Co.).<br />
Menu offerings are traditional and straightforward,<br />
featuring hand-crafted and quality<br />
Italian ingredients, executed with skill and an<br />
eye to detail. In Italy, gastronomy developed<br />
along provincial lines. Until the unification<br />
of Italy in 1861, there was no national Italian<br />
cuisine. The reality of Italian cookery is that<br />
it is a merger of distinct and diverse regional<br />
cuisines and their subsets. The home still<br />
remains the safeguard of Italian indigenous<br />
cooking and culinary traditions, and this is<br />
reflected in the restaurant’s offerings.<br />
On our first visit we ate at La Piazza,<br />
a restaurant in the heart of the store. Its<br />
concept was inspired by the traditional<br />
Italian town square. The tables are situated<br />
close together. We arrived promptly at 11<br />
a.m. to get a good table overlooking Balmuto<br />
Street. La Piazza does not take reservations,<br />
FOR SOLO TRAVELLERS<br />
From our farm to your table ...<br />
Award winning hand crafted<br />
alpine style cheese<br />
Fresh Cheese Curds<br />
Cheese Tastings<br />
Gift Baskets &<br />
Gift Boxes<br />
Cheese Trays<br />
Fondue & Raclette<br />
Monday to Friday 9am–5pm<br />
Saturday 9am–4pm<br />
Stonetown Artisan Cheese<br />
5021 Perth Line 8<br />
St. Marys ON<br />
Travel Professionals International<br />
1131 Nottinghill Gate, Suite 203, Oakville ON, L6M 1K5<br />
647-689-3884, TICO registration #50013851<br />
519-229-6856<br />
info@stonetowncheese.com<br />
www.stonetowncheese.com
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