"Happy National Cheese Lovers Day!" I exclaimed to my wife.
She paused, looking up at me suspiciously. "It is not," she declared. I nodded emphatically.
"It is!" I said, holding up my hand. "I swear!"
She didn't exactly give me a grumpy look, but as a known turophile (or lover of cheese,) I don't exactly have a good reputation when it comes for finding excuses to eat the stuff. "So, where are we going for lunch?"
Now came the hard part. "Eataly," I told her. Her eyebrow went up, which I understood. We'd eaten at Eataly's Terra Cafe a year or so earlier and we'd been less than impressed. I held up a finger. "There's three restaurants at Eataly. We've only been to one so far. I'd like to go to Il Pastaio di Eataly. It's the pasta place right in the middle of the store."
Now she was even more confused. "You want to go to a pasta place to eat cheese?"
We'd walked through Eataly, a culinary oddity located in North Dallas' Northpark Mall. Part grocery store, winery, patisserie, and pizza place, the location also sported three restaurants: Terra, a beautiful location upstairs severing an Italian take on seasonal ingredients, La Pizza & La Pasta which is exactly like what it sounds, and Il Pastaio di Eataly, specializing in fresh made pasta.
But what had attracted me wasn't the spaghetti or fettucini. Instead, when I'd been researching a way to celebrate National Cheese Lovers Day, I'd spotted something very close and dear to my heart.
Burrata.
For the uninitiated, Burrata is basically mozzarella cheese, but with a twist. Formed into a firm pouch which contains a soft and stringy curd and cream called stracciatella, Burrata is both softer and creamier than typical fresh mozzarella. It can be spread easily and practically melts in the mouth.
And they had some!
Northpark Mall was packed that afternoon and as I frustratingly navigated one full parking lot after another, I had to assume that everyone at the mall was there for the same thing. Cheese. Imagine my surprise, after finding a parking space and dragging my poor wife through packed corridors, to be seated within just a few minutes.
We were placed at the bar, sitting across from the stove, bottles of wine rising in a column off to our side. My mouth watered as I watched one of the chefs placing perfectly formed balls of burrata in bowls, drizzled with olive oil!
Burrata is something of a blank canvas and depending on the quality of the cheese, chefs may... or may not... elect to add to it. When my burrata arrived, it was served plain, with just a slight drizzle of olive oil and two pieces of crustini toast. In fact, it almost looked like... an appetizer. As if the chef didn't quite know how important this cheese was to me! Hesitatingly, knowing that the burrata I'd had a few months before in Terra had been... challenging to like... I took a taste.
And fell in love.
Fresh. Oh goodness. Sweet. Salty. The crunch of the crustini, the smooth creaminess of the burrata! All of it combined perfectly! Of course, I tried it with my serving of Eataly's un-grilled "Rustic" Bread and found it just as good.
"Mmmm," my wife hummed, sampling some of my cheese. I nodded in complete agreement as we talked the beauty of burrata. Suddenly, Italy was much, much closer.
But I wasn't done. A second "appetizer" was set in front of me. I'd ordered it on a whim, mostly because I'd never heard of it before. "Bruschetta con Ricotta Miele e Tartufo." It was a long name and come on... truffle honey? Whipped Calabro Ricotta? How can a cheese lover turn something like that down?
Sweet and creamy, I was astonished by the flavor of the whipped Calabro Ricotta. Most of us are familiar with the gritty texture we find when its spooned out of those plastic tubs we buy at the grocery store and then make lasagna. But this... che bello! I gave half to my wife and her mouth curled up in a smile. "That's almost a dessert!"
As I dug into my cheese, my wife's Trenette Al Pesto Genovese arrived. A thick spaghetti like pasta covered in a pesto made of basil, pine nuts, Pecorino cheese, and Parmigiano Reggiano - the king of cheese itself - I had to admit that it looked scrumptious.
"Would you like some? There's cheese on it," she teased. I nodded happily. Delicious. With hints of garlic and olive oil and with the pesto light and perfect, I could easily taste the familiar and deep tanginess and nutty flavors of the Pecorino and Parmigiano Reggiano. I smiled.
I finished my cheese as my wife emptied her glass of wine and we sat back, full and very pleased. Il Pastaio di Eataly had more than satisfied my desire for cheese. It had broadened my horizons. It had shown me that if your Burrata was super fresh and super delicious, you didn't need all the additives to make it work. Still, I frowned.
"What's wrong?" My wife asked, concerned.
"The whipped ricotta," I whispered. She laughed.
"It was the star of the show, wasn't it?"
I nodded. It was indeed. read more