Apple orchards and pumpkin patches are traditional hot spots for fall activities but dining in a beehive?
Serra by Birreria, the rooftop restaurant at Eataly NYC Flatiron, offers an experience unlike any other. This seasonal space has transformed into Serra d'Autunno, celebrating local and Italian honey and the lush crops of fruits and vegetables peaking as the leaves turn. An additional attraction during these Covid-19 days is that you’ll be eating in the open-air under the city lights.
Upon entering the Honey + Harvest themed beehive, saturated in honey tones of amber, red, brown, and cream, the feeling of nestling inside honeycombs as the waning autumn sunlight trickles in is intoxicating. Learning about the honeybees' journey from hive to table is part of the fun. A wall dedicated to this artistic process is a focal point of the décor and highlights the nomadic Italian honey producer Mieli Thun.
The unique flavors defining Mieli Thun's monofloral honey were first uncovered in 1921 in Italy's northern region of Trentino-Alto Adige by beekeeper Andrea Paternoster. He realized that magnificent honey was produced when his bees only pollinated flowers in the nearby Italian Alps. Paternoster continued experimenting with different types of flowers, and this obsession blossomed into Mieli Thun, now run by his grandson with the same name. "Like a hereditary illness for good, it came to me," muses Paternoster about his shared passion for the family business. "When I was 16 years old, I was watching the bees coming back to hives in spring, full of nectar and pollen. As they flew sinuously, a graceful dance, I immediately fell in love. Lifelong love."
Paternoster's devotion to nomadic beekeeping requires traveling to over 60 different regions by night while the hive is asleep. When the bees awaken, they collect diverse nectars capturing the taste of the Italian forest, pastures, and hills. It's this assortment of flavors and fragrances that are woven into the menu at Serra d'Autunno alongside other Italian specialties. "We are able to design our food to highlight those different nuances and not just use it to add sweetness to something," says Eataly's Executive Chef Michael Nogera. Combined with local tri-state area ingredients from the Union Square Greenmarket, the result is buzzworthy.
Diners can kick off their meal by choosing a spirit, honey, and tea for The Bee's Teas cocktail brought to life by a mixologist who determines the ratio of ingredients poured based on the individual's choices. For those seeking an alternative libation, there's "idromele" (mead) created by fermenting honey with various fruits, spices, grains, or hops. Also available is a selection of local and Italian honey beers plus wines with an emphasis on Chianti Classico DOCG.
Honey, like wine, elevates the palette when paired with the right ingredients. While some dishes on the menu don't include this star component, among those that do, Chef Nogera recommends the Stinco di Maiale al Miele, a braised pork shank glazed with honey. "We used honey here to enhance the flavor of the pork and play on the nuances in this particular forest honey."
He also suggests the cheese plate, Nettare e Formaggio, which he designed backward by first choosing the honey then finding cheeses from Italy’s same region to pair with it. Acacia honey and Guffanti Gorgonzola Piccante 300-Days Aged from Lombardia and Linden honey and Guiffanti Robiola Due Latti from Piemonte are two featured combinations. Other kitchen delights are Zucca e Stracciatella, a roasted honeynut squash, with house-made stracciatella cheese, hazelnuts, sage, drizzled with Honeysuckle honey, and the Panna Cotta Fichi e Miele dessert.
This immersive Serra d'Autunno Honey + Harvest concept sheds light on the integral role honeybees play in the food chain. These "super pollinators" significantly impact 1/3 of the food we eat, including tomatoes, coffee, and grapes, essential items at the Italian table. Yet bees are disappearing at an alarming rate due to climate change, pesticide use, and habitat loss, among other factors. Eataly is joining the fight to save bees by donating 10% of net proceeds from every honey-based dish to The Bee Conservancy's Sponsor-a-Hive program, which places honeybee hives and native bee homes with community organizations in the U.S. and Canada.
Indulging in this Italian culinary adventure set against NYC's crisp open-air skyline served with a side of philanthropy will spice up any fall to-do list.