Had some chores to do downtown this morning that had us rushing out the door without our morning coffee and toast.  So, mid-morning and chores done, Steve and I

made a stop at Eataly (WWW.EATALY.COM) – the huge, new Mario Batali-Joe Bastianich Italian emporium on 23^rd Street across from Madison Square Park.  My previous stop had been at lunch time just after the opening and it was chaos – you couldn’t get through the aisles, so I bobbed and weaved my way to an exit without experiencing the food and drink bars, products, kiosks, and restaurants. Today, however, at 11:20 the atmosphere was calm and inviting so we sat down at the verdura counter (where, by the by, you can purchase any type of whole vegetable and have the “vegetable butcher” prep it for your home use – don’t have to peel a potato ever again) and ordered our breakfast – Steve had funghi with polenta crisps and I had the piatti misto which included a small bowl of summer minestrone, along with small portions of caponata,  a gorgeous shaved veg salad, and potato salad (really some roasted fingerlings) and he had a glass of rosé and I had a glass of prosecco rosé – think this old couple went to hell in an handcart – wine for breakfast?  Everything sang of the earth – immediately the New York moment was filled with abbodanza and stress was mellowed.  Wine for breakfast – no matter, it was a wonderful way to begin the day!