Cheers Farley, for writing the truth! The idea that NYC's Eataly is a locavore establishment is a sham and a disgrace to locavorism. It's nothing but foodie commercialism, with big fat names like Mario Batali and concepts like Slow Food behind it. When French or Asian food is imported, New Yorkers balk at carbon footprints, but Italy gets carte blanche in the import/export game. The food in Italy (the country, not the eatery) is obviously fantastic, but you don't need to import tinned tomatoes and dried pasta to "capture" the flavor of the old world. In fact, I bet that most chefs in Italy would be against importing, and favor local sourcing and fresh options instead. Isn't that what Italian food is supposed to be about? (It's also why Italy has the least amount of ethnic restaurants, but that's another story altogether.)

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