Photo by singingbeagle

In July, we reported that celebrity Chef Mario Batali’s Italian food-and-drink emporium Eataly would open in D.C. sometime in 2012, and it looks like real estate agents have identified three to four possible locations for it.

The Post reports that the local outpost of the New York restaurant will be plenty large — some 60,000 square feet. While that’s par for the course for Eataly — the New York location is 40,000 square feet — it would be amongst the largest restaurant spaces in the District.

Carmine’s, another New York Italian eatery that opened in Penn Quarter last year, stands at 20,000 square feet. Just up the road, Clyde’s is 23,000 square feet. Those two are being eclipsed by The Hamilton, though, a 37,500-square-foot restaurant owned by the Clyde’s Restaurant Group, located at the former Borders Bookstore at 14th and F Street NW.

Of course, size alone isn’t the only thing that Batali and his local partners are considering, according to the Post:

That doesn’t mean the search is easy. Eataly wants an area that attracts brisk foot traffic from both locals and tourists. And it would like high ceilings, to help create a place that feels like an escape.

A final decision is expected in 60 days.