Eataly NYC Downtown

"Every night at 8:19, a race begins across Chicago to be the first to grab a coveted item — a $9.99 bag of Eataly pasta. The bag is a surprise: Inside could be wrapped skeins of squid ink or spinach pasta, tucked rounds of focaccia, fig jam ravioli, or something else — all “cartoonishly good,” according to a customer familiar with the frantic process. The bag’s contents are perfectly edible and freshly made, but the clock’s just past Eataly’s desired sell-by time, so they list the bag on Too Good To Go. The app, which launched in 2015 in Denmark and arrived in 2021 in Chicago (it’s also in major cities like New York, Miami, and Seattle) allows supermarkets, bakeries, and restaurants to sell bags of food otherwise marked to be thrown out, like day-old pastries or misordered entrees. Chicagoans have to be quick with their fingers to reserve and pay for some of the app’s most popular offerings. Nearly every night, Eataly’s bags — which normally retail at the store for around $30 — sell out by 8:20 p.m." - Pearse Anderson

"Open during the pandemic from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in both its New York locations, this store carries everything from pasta, Italian truffles to cannolis. Online orders are accepted through Instacart with initial delays now resolved." - Charu Suri