Update:
Christmas ended up being a blur of hosting and events, I totally forgot to post about this, sorry. First off a big Thank You! to everyone who chimed in with suggestions for Charcuterie and Cheese selections! 
Thanks @ebethsdad @ipsedixit @nashwill @Local @frommtron @aaqjr @hungryhungryhippos and others.
Despite it being so close to us, we have been avoiding Eataly for the longest time, hearing about the awful parking situation and mixed reports from everyone. I originally really wanted to go, but after the crazy reports here on FTC, it felt like a zoo I didn’t want to visit. But with this new Charcuterie need, we decided to stop by there first (since it was closest)…
Parking was indeed a madhouse. The Century City Parking Lot was completely full and they directed everyone to park in surrounding parking lots! Ugh. 
At this point, we so just felt like driving away to other suggestions on this thread, but stuck it out and found parking in a neighboring lot.
Walking in, I can see the appeal of Eataly. It has so many different food-related “stations”, for Wine, Butchery, Imported Canned & Dry Goods and a plethora of Restaurant / Food Stalls.
But we were here for Charcuterie and Cheese selections. We had to remind ourselves to stay focused… 
There was a line to get to the Charcuterie counter. 15+ minutes later, we arrived at the front. Luckily the person at the counter was super nice. He let us sample multiple cuts of Charcuterie and a few Cheeses as well (@TheCookie), so that made choosing the right cuts a bit easier (and tastier).
They had 10 different types of Prosciutto alone, and some interesting offerings from various regions we hadn’t tried before:
We ended up getting for our Christmas Charcuterie Board:
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Bresaola (Beef Charcuterie) from Washington: This was a recommendation by the person behind the counter, he said it was his favorite cut and it was indeed deeply beefy and flavorful. A nice contrast to the other Pork products.
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Soppressata: They had a beautiful, lightly spicy Soppressata.
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Salami (forgot the exact name): I thought I had the receipt still, but couldn’t find it, but the nice charcuterie person recommended a Salami from a North American provider, and it was deeply porky and perfect to contrast with the other 2 selections.
Then we chose a few Cheeses as well:
I believe the person said Eataly carries over 200(!) different types of Cheeses, which makes it a nice place to get all your choices done if you were short on time.
We ended up sampling and then getting:
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Ossau-Iraty: A French-Basque Sheep’s Milk Cheese. This was wonderful! I loved the slightly funky flavor (like many Sheep’s Milk Cheeses), but mellows out and has a creaminess as you eat it. This was lovely!
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Moses Sleeper (Jasper Hill Creamery): This Cow’s Milk Brie-Style Cheese was a hit at our dinner party.
So creamy, spreadable and devoured within the first 30 minutes of us putting it out, LOL.
- Honeywax (San Pietro): From Vento, Italy, this Cow’s Milk Cheese is prepared and then coated in Beeswax to age and finish. The end result was incredible! Most of our FTC Cheese Masters probably know about this, but we hadn’t tried this before until now. There’s a good creamy, cheese foundation of course, but the finish is this incredible subtle Honey Beeswax flavor. This was another hit at the party.
(@TheCookie)
We were only planning to pop in to try and see what we might get and try some of the other places like @ipsedixit and @Local’s recommended Milkfarm, but they were already sold out for the holidays (we called) and then Eataly sucked us in, but actually had enough selection (and free samples, letting us try a variety of Charcuterie and Cheeses before buying) that we ended up getting everything we needed here.
Was it worth fighting the horrendous Holiday parking and crazy crowds? I’m not sure, but it all worked out in the end. Thanks @frommtron and everyone again!
Eataly L.A.
(in the Century City Mall)
10250 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Tel: (213) 310-8000
The firm Raw Cow’s Milk Cheese had an easy, creamy, buttery taste. 
