I was shocked and saddened when Mario Batali stood me up for our 7:45 a.m. breakfast at Eataly this morning. Actually, Eataly wasn’t open for breakfast at 7 as had been advertised -- possibly shutdown by success fatigue. I came in through the delivery entrance. A friendly worker said no one was in the office yet. The La Stampa online news link delivered the news in red letters on a running crawl overhead. I think the borsa (the market) went up or down. But Mario did not appear. Executive chef Alex Pilas sent him a text for me. I checked my email on Pilas computer -- no cancellation in my box.

        Well, what can I say. I’ve spent the last two evenings exploring and eating at Eataly. Tuesday night Mario said, “See you Thursday at 7:30.” I was planning to order a doppio longo and imagine I was in Italy. I’ve been stood up by cuter guys than Mario, taller men and richer, but this is the first time I’ve been stood up by a man in short pants and orange Crocs. Actually, Karl Heinz wore short pants, too, but he thought we’d do better hitchhiking in the south of France if I wore the lederhosen. So I did. We were 18, and he never left my side. Guess that’s how life goes.

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