Second Feature Happy 25 Years to #GNOCCO @GnoccoNY Since July 1, 2000 by #GianLucaGiovanetti Authentic Modena Italy Native! 337 East 10th Street Manhattan
The winner and still the champion, Gnocchi Con Tartufo Nero!
Gian Luca Giovanetti and his little doggie get up at the crack of dawn (you know, like Time to Make the Donuts) to hunt for the truffles across the street in Tompkins Square Park so they are super fresh for your dinner! (and if you didn't bring your sense of humor today, we suggest you acquaint yourself with the finer points of importing from Umbria, obviously where they really are from...). And YES they know how to do a cheeseburger with freshly cut fries if you are all-American like Peachy and MUST have your cheeseburger
Peachy Cheeseburger Party in the USA
It's not who you know, it's WHOM YOU KNOW and we know Gian Luca!
Gnocco earned their first review in 2024, and we were as pleased as punch to return, particularly because we wanted to celebrate their 25 years in business!
Pizza is a necessity in life as far as we are concerned, and all pizza is unequivocally better here because the water is better in New York. Of all the pizza, we investigate to see who is really making remarkable pizza, and this is our first Gnocco experience. All of their pizzas are 12 inch Roman pizzas, and you can see all of the choices here under dinner, pizza. No one should be surprised that Peachy chose the Vegetariana: Cherry Tomatoes, Artichokes, Mushrooms, and Bell Peppers teamed up in perfect proportion to wow us. Normally this also has black olives, but if you read carefully, we like no one's black olives and Gnocco honored our request wonderfully. Freshly Grated Parmesan was added: they asked first and naturally, we firmly believe in many cases, it is a plus! (not on seafood though, silly!)
Of course, the minute we walked in the door of Gnocco, owner and founder Gian Luca Giovanetti personally greeted us graciously and was a delight during the duration of the whole second Gnocco experience.
Gnocco has an indoor garden setting in the back, adding to its festive allure.
We are huge fans of salads, so meet Mesclun Salad with Grilled Marinated Chicken! Shredded Carrots and Tomato Slices joined the fresh greens and lemon vinaigrette was on the side. Even though Gian Luca philosophizes that salads should be dressed, the one eating it does not like it that way and this is a restaurant after all and at Gnocco, they are happy to make you happy! Believe it or not, this is not true everywhere and inevitably many places have come and gone in the sixteen plus years we have done this...but note Gnocco has been around for twenty-five years!
Baby Spinach Salad is a beacon of freshness and elegance with sundried tomatoes perfectly punctuating the Popeye-endorsed greens, and the right amount of Ricotta Salata joined in. Balsamic partied on the side for Ms. Pretty Picky who likes it that way.
The real triumph of the salads this visit, however, was the fruit salad.
There are not enough places that have fruit salad on the menu and you really ought to in August in particular! You have the option of adding granola or yogurt, but if you are a Peachy Deegan you will say absolutely no thank you to those and yes please please please to Chocolate Gelato, even more necessary in life than pizza. Peachy is quite likely to like anything at all with Chocolate Gelato coming to the plate. All fruit components were entirely fresh and cut well. No pictures are edited at all and the truth is that Gian Luca is a winner!
If you are visiting on a day like today where it seems like November in August, opt for the Tagliatelle Al Ragu, crafted in the "Straw and Hay" method with yellow and green pasta (dehydrated spinach): Paglia e Fieno, a total delicious classic that hits the spot. Peas and fresh cheese elevate it in a lovely manner. All pasta here is made fresh on premises!
And Peachy still likes the Gnocci with Black Truffles the best and you may not pass go and collect $200 in the Monopoly of Gnocco without trying it!
Summer is great for Paninis, and we tried the Grilled Chicken and the Tuna with Capers.
Both Paninis come with every day freshly made Ciabatta, of course ITALIAN, and a side salad as you see in the first picture. The Paninis were excited to see the camera and they knew their life would indeed be limited in their supreme fresh deliciousness in close proximity to Peachy, so they vogued for the camera to show you their best smiles. The canned tuna, Calipo, is imported from Italy and is indeed a delicacy if you are used to the domestic variety here and the chicken is graciously sliced in a generous portion. We were also delighted to meet GM Mattia and Mike the waiter.
Not every place that is not rooted in an all-American menu can accomplish the basic building block of any successful dinner menu: THE CHEESEBURGER. Gnocco has a convincing edition that is a revelation with mozzarella and although we did order it medium rare, it was partly medium but overall a winner! Irish Peachy of course adored the freshly cut fries.
Gian Luca Giovanetti and his team continue to be amazing!
