Boiling Point
Three chefs turn up the heat with these light, tender, and flavorful gnocchi.
THE BEST: Homemade Potato Gnocchi $17, Radius
The Radius menu is billed as modern French, but celebrated chef Michael Schlow earned his chops in Italian kitchens, and his gnocchi prove it. They are easily the lightest, most delicately flavored pasta in the city (and quite possibly the best I've ever tasted), and they're served with a full selection of fall's best bounty: dazzlingly bright-green and tender Brussels sprout leaves and crisp carrot "pearls" form the vegetable base, while lardons of apple-wood bacon add a rich smokiness. Even the thinnest shavings of cheese would be too heavy for this dish. Instead, a delicate shroud of pecorino foam transforms this gnocchi from just plain light to an unqualified ethereal. Bottom line Every other gnocchi dish will seem downright heavy after you try these.
Gnocchi alla amatriciana $15, Tavolo
Regulars of this months-old newcomer to the Dorchester dining scene know why their meatballs have an almost cultlike following: intense flavor in a feather-light package. Equally well flavored and textured are their pillowy gnocchi. With a robust potato flavor and the delicate texture of the airiest pate a choux, the gnocchi come coated in a mild but luxurious pecorino butter sauce -- the dollop of relatively bland red sauce with pancetta that accompanies them is completely superfluous. Bottom line Gnocchi this tender deserve to be in the spotlight -- hold the red sauce, please.
Potato Gnocchi With Shaved Black Summer Truffles and Grana Padano $18, Bin 26 Enoteca
Though not quite as tender as the very best gnocchi, these rustic ridged morsels are the perfect vehicles for delivering the flavor of the generous shaving of robust late-summer truffles that top them. Tossed with a simple sauce of lemon, Grana Padano cheese, and butter, with a mild herbal kick, the dish is an exercise in restraint -- albeit plate-licking, soul-satisfying restraint. Bottom line Save your bread -- you'll need it to sop up the sauce. -- J. Kenji Alt
Radius 8 