Saucy Standouts
Though it's generally a thick, full-bodied meat sauce, we found pasta Bolognese that's light enough to eat year-round.
GNOCCHI BOLOGNESE $22, Sage (The best!)
Chef-owner Anthony Susi's hand-rolled, pillowy gnocchi are delicious, but when he veils them in his delectable Bolognese, expect perfection on a plate. "It's all about the fresh ingredients," he says of the sauce he prepares daily. A medium grind of beef, pork, and veal is cooked with Nutrilla canned tomatoes and onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and herbs. While many chefs simmer Bolognese for hours, Susi doesn't believe in extended cooking, which thickens a sauce. He also eschews cream, leaving his sauce tasting gardenlike and light. Bottom line Don't give your friends a taste unless you're prepared for dueling forks.
PENNE A LA BOLOGNAISE $15, dbar
When he was consulting at dbar, Christopher Coombs, now executive chef, experimented with Bolognaise, a French version of the meat sauce, for a "Sopranos Sunday" menu. Using French techniques of searing, crisping, and sauteing everything separately to retain each ingredient's integrity, he combines veal, beef, pancetta, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and herbs with a creamy San Marzano tomato sauce. His Bolognaise became so popular he left it on the menu. "It's near and dear to me, because it's comforting any time of the year," says Coombs, who typically cooks and sources seasonally, and even grows herbs on the dbar roof. Bottom line The dish holds up, even if you order it to go.
LASAGNA BOLOGNESE $14 small, $22 large, Il Capriccio
"I've been making Bolognese at Il Capriccio this way for over 20 years," says chef and co-owner Rich Barron. His sauce combines veal and pancetta with San Marzano tomatoes, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, herbs, wine, and veal stock, cooked together. After reducing and straining, he folds in heavy cream to finish. This one is rich. Paired with one of sommelier Jeannie Rogers's wonderful boutique Italian wines, it will leave you surprised and sated. Bottom line Don't plan on ordering dessert.
