What ever happened to good old fashioned grocery shopping?
Grist’s Wayne Curtis looks at New York City’s Eataly as a reinvention of the supermarket. Is it “Dean and DeLuca meets Whole Foods – on steroids” or is it the supermarket as Disneyland – for adults? Actually it’s more like the supermarket goes Vegas!
Eataly attempts to translate the concept of Slow Food into slow shopping without the consideration of local small farmers and producers. Curtis describes it this way:
“[O]nce I slowed down and enjoyed the village sensibility, something seemed amiss. It was celebration of a place – but a place thousands of miles away, not this place.” Too much Italy and too little New York state farm production…
Photo credit: Samantha Decker, used with permission under Creative Commons license.
So you went into a store called “Eataly” and you were disappointed there were no New York State products? Why should there be? Battali and company are importers, promoting a specific place and you’re right, that place is not here. You are being fatuous and so politically correct that you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face. Sorry, bud, you missed the boat on this one.
Peter,
Actually what was particularly amusing about this piece – and though I didn’t actually visit Eataly, I wish I had – the original one is very much promoting “local food.” That concept doesn’t translate well when the whole thing is picked up and moved to another country.
Keep the conversation going! I appreciate your point of view!
Gail