What makes Gnocco different

If you’re like NYC Food Guy, you don’t even want to eat pizza from a shop that doesn’t have at least one Italian person working inside. You’ll be relieved to hear then, that Gnocco employs Italians where it counts: in the kitchen. Every few months, young chefs are literally imported from Italy’s culinary schools right to this East Village restaurant. It doesn’t get more authentic than that, and it shows. Everything was excellent from top to bottom, starting with the salads.

Salads

Neither photo does justice to the size of the salads, but both were well worth their price tags.

Insalata Veronica ($8.45)

Mesclun salad with Apple, Pine Nuts, fresh Corn and Lemon vinaigrette

• All the ingredients were fresh and flavorful

Insalata Contadina ($8.45)

• This usually comes with the flaked Parmesan on top, resulting in more cheese.
• I added some balsamic vinegar to balance out the extra virgin olive oil and earthy arugula.

Pizza

These two pies were both delicious but their thin crusts resulted in flimsy slices which couldn’t support the weight of the toppings. Fortunately, the flavor of the sauce and crisp, airy outer crust made up for this shortcoming. As an entree, a full pie is good for only one person.

Parmigiana ($12.95)

Marinara ($9.45)

• This was a simple, tasty pie with brightly flavored sauce and grated mozzarella.
• Ask for some shaved parmesan on here, it can’t hurt.

House Made Pasta

With the exception of the rigatoni, all of Gnocco’s standard menu pastas are house made and it’s reflected in the taste and texture of the gnocchi. Served in Primi (first course i.e. smaller) sized portions, you may want to split a pizza with a dining mate for a truly filling meal.

Gnocchi al Pomodoro e Mozzarella di Bufala ($14.45)

Homemade potato Gnocchi with Tomato sauce, Buffalo Mozzarella and basil

• The delicate process of making gnocchi has been mastered. It was light, cooked perfectly and not even slightly gummy.
• The brightly flavored tomato sauce was hearty without being chunky. This left some sauce to be mopped up with pizza crust or bread after all the delicious potato dumplings were gone.
• The creamy buffalo mozzarella was delicious and melted along with each bite of gnocchi.

The Gnocco

The restaurant is actually named after an Italian dish. “Gnocco” are airy pockets of flash-fried dough which puff up like little baloons and look delicious. They’re served with a plate of cured Italian meats which are meant to be folded and eaten by hand with the fried dough. I’m looking forward to trying them next time I’m at Gnocco.

Backyard Garden

Everyone loves dining al fresco and Gnocco offers it in the truest sense. The leaves, the lights and the vines come together to make you feel like you’re dining in the country not a booming city. In fall and winter, a roof (not pictured) unfurls above the leaves while the metal vents provide heat (Though not enough to keep this area open on brutally cold days).

Conclusion

What’s better than a simple, authentic meal done right? How about meeting an owner who is ecstatic that you’ve realized his goal. In Gnocco owner and Italian native Gian Luca Giovanetti, NYC Food Guy has found just that. I’ve never met anyone as excited about Gnocchi as him. It’s authenticity like this, in food and in a person, which makes you trust a restaurant. I haven’t been jazzed about Italian food in a long time but thanks to my experience at Gnocco, I’m now looking forward to trying two more of Giovanetti’s ventures:

• Italian tapas at Perbacco where the Italian chef import system is also in effect. 234 East 4th Street near Avenue B
  
• The tramezzini at Caffe Emilia, which is sort of an Italian club sandwich, which according to Giovanetti via NYMag.com is “three layers of white bread, and we stuff it with original ingredients: caramelized onion with balsamic vinegar, tuna, shrimp, ham, artichokes, Fontina cheese.” Wow. 139 1st Avenue near 9th Street

Gnocco

“Spuntino” translated from Italian, literally means “to break”. And Frankies Spuntino 17 Clinton Street provides the perfect atmosphere “to break” bread with friends or that special someone. Candle light flickers off narrow brick walls while a young crowd enjoys affordable wine and cheese pairings, plates of cured meats, crostini, salads, and antipasti en route to a tasty, albeit, basic Italian dinner.

My lovely date and I arrived at Frankies on a Thursday night and waited at the standing-room only bar. I know nothing about wine but the bartender, Travis, was extremely accommodating, offering small tastes of his favorites. I ended up with a $10 glass of Lagrein red. It was mild and fruity, definitely recommended for wine novices.

Let’s get into the meal…

I was immediately greeted with disappointment when the waitress told me there was no bread left for the sandwiches. Already starting off on the wrong foot. Let’s see if Frankies could redeem themselves.

First course for my lovely date was a generic Arugula, Pecorino, and Romano salad with Merlot Wine Vinaigrette ($8). While the ingredients were fresh, the salad was unimpressive. The tart dressing and smokey cheese didn’t convince me or my date to order this again.

We also shared a $12 cheese special, featuring two domestic cheeses. The top cheese is called “Oh My Heart”, a brie-like variety with a grassy-tasting mushroom flavored rind. Way too earthy for me. The large piece of cheese is a Grafton Cheddar. It was damn near perfect. Crumbly and mild, it melted in your mouth upon each bite. The dark substance at left is called “mostarda” and it contained figs, cherries, walnuts, raisins, and sunflower seeds in a balsamic reduction. This was an acquired taste, unlike the walnuts and honey combo at right. This was all served with some crusty cran-walnut bread. Our waitress Ellie was very patient and helpful when describing these finer nuances.

On to the entrees…

If you know NYC Food Guy, I need to try everything. The fact that we were a 2-person party didn’t stop me. Since there was no bread for sandwiches, I ordered the meatballs anyway in addition to the cavatelli with Faicco’s hot sausage and browned sage butter ($16). My date went with the House made Gnocchi Marinara and fresh ricotta ($14).

The meatballs ($10 for 3) were delicious.

Moist, light, perfectly spiced, and all beef, they’re handmade with bread crumbs, raisins and pine nuts. The last two ingredients may seem odd but they don’t affect the texture as much as subtly contribute to the delicious flavor. The marinara was excellent, embodying a balanced sweet and garlicky flavor which perfectly coexisted with the sharpness of the sprinkled parmigiano reggiano melting on top. The meatballs were delicious enough on their own to alleviate my bread-related disappointment.

If not for the hot sausage, the cavatelli ($16) would have been a major disappointment.

The sausage was fresh, moist, and subtly spicy but the cavatelli was on the firmer side of al dente and the browned sage butter wasn’t very flavorful. This was my first time eating cavatelli but I know what’s delicious AND affordable and this was not $16 well spent.

The Gnocchi was cooked perfectly but the marinara and fresh ricotta carried the dish ($14).

The balanced marinara was the star of the show, combining with the pillowy gnocchi and light, creamy ricotta to create a simple, tasty dish that didn’t wow me but definitely satisfied.

Attentive service and a cozy atmosphere make Frankies Spuntino 17 Clinton Street a worthwhile venture.

After moving our entire table so my lovely date could get to her seat, I was happy to see Frankie’s make up for it with attentive, friendly service and an atmosphere that harbored intimacy despite that fact that the neighboring table was practically on top of us. Frankies isn’t cheap but it is affordable especially if you value the overall quality of your dining experience.

Frankies Spuntino 17 Clinton Street