Brava Eataly! Best customer service


A little bit of humor gets you a long way. With this note, how can you be grumpy even after a long line?

Kudos to Eataly on the frantic Saturday shopping day pre-hurricane. Before New Yorkers knew that Irene would be a somewhat disappointing wash, everyone packed up like crazy on survival supplies. Water was sold out in several supermarkets, and the check-out lines were long. The mood had that excitement in the air, “we are too cool to freak out, but something is about to happen, let’s not overreact, but still, better safe than sorry, let’s horde on pantry essentials – just in case”.

I decided to shop at my favorite purveyor, - why loose style just because of an imminent weather catastrophe. Eataly was packed, at the entrance everyone was told by the door guard that the lines were 45 minutes. OK. I faced it and it wasn’t even that bad, maybe 25 minutes tops. But the best was the service! Basically, instead of 300 workers, they had 30, according to a manager. And still, while back office staff and managers were at the cashiers and some stations were closed, everything went smoothly and I got all the goodies I needed to spend a very gastronomical and comfortable cooking Sunday while Irene blasted outside.


Eataly has three restaurants and a bar with it’s own brewery on the rooftop. Don’t miss out on this Italian territory in the middle Manhattan on your next visit.


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Own it: quintessentially NYC Photos

Photo:John-Michael Ekeblad

About 90% of the photos on this blog are taken with my phone. It’s a principle I have, so that you actually know that the impressions recorded here are 100% real and truly from an insider perspective… Of course the exception is when I want to tell you about something really interesting that just opened and I did not have time to check it out yet. Let’s talk about professional NYC photography. This photo above, and many more cool shots – are by a photographer John-Michael Ekeblad, and can actually be yours! Many people ask me about where to get NY street photography, and I just came across this 3 day sale offered from Fab.com - an online retailer that sells works of great design at up to 70% off. Have a NYC life snapshot into your home.

Fab.com

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Street Art: Flaming Cactus on Astor Place


This morning as I walked out the front door I stumbled onto the lamp post outside my building and had to smile – and actually touch it! Ah those NY moments. The colorfully decorated column was the same lamp post I had embarrassedly bumped into once (not my fault - it is perfectly in your way if you are running trying to hail a passing cab as soon as you step onto the sidewalk – you know what I mean?). Well that would not have happened today, since the neon orange zip ties that hug the post would have certainly flashed in my peripheral vision., that’s how colorful they are. What a great idea!! Looking closer I found the information on a paper hanging at the bottom of the posts.

The “Flaming Cactus” installation is by the Animus Arts Collective and commissioned by the City. Fluorescent plastic cable ties will bedeck fourteen lampposts in the East Village. At least five are on my block, lucky me. Great example of those small surprises that pop up in our routine that make this city so exciting to live in. Thank you Animus Arts Collective and the city’s Department of Transportation for an unexpected dose of animation to my morning!


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