Gnocci Astice, Pranzo - Santa Fe
Now, I live in Denver, and god knows I have a billion amazing restaurants to try there, but I'm a poor college student. So when I came home to New Mexico for Christmas last week, my parents took me to Pranzo, a quite delicious Italian restaurant.
I didn't grab a picture of my dish before it was demolished (unless you want to see it in it's take-home container), but the mere description of it was enough to set me salivating, and I am sure qualifies as food-erotica.
I had the Gnocci Astice, described on the menu as: Lobster and house-made gnocchi with bacon, chile flakes, garlic, and peas, Saffron cream.
The gnocchi-- oh, the gnocchi I could go on about for days. I tend to be very picky about gnocchi, but these were perfect-- little pillows of pasta, soft, but not doughy, but still firm enough to have an amazing texture. The bacon, chile flakes, and garlic added a very subtle extra dimension to the saffron cream, which was H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y. Creamy and decadent, but not too heavy (my tummy sometimes gets upset with heavy cream sauces), and with the saffron added... oh, god. It was like liquid heaven. And of course, the lobster... can you really go wrong with lobster? Little chunks of red in an light orange cream sauce... it was perfect. My plate was well hailed as the best of the table.
This is how much I loved this dish: I hate peas. I know, it's childish, but I just hate them. I ate them, willingly, and licked my lips after each one, savoring each little tiny bit.
Actually, the leftovers are calling my name from the fridge. I highly recommend this dish if you're ever in Santa Fe!
I didn't grab a picture of my dish before it was demolished (unless you want to see it in it's take-home container), but the mere description of it was enough to set me salivating, and I am sure qualifies as food-erotica.
I had the Gnocci Astice, described on the menu as: Lobster and house-made gnocchi with bacon, chile flakes, garlic, and peas, Saffron cream.
The gnocchi-- oh, the gnocchi I could go on about for days. I tend to be very picky about gnocchi, but these were perfect-- little pillows of pasta, soft, but not doughy, but still firm enough to have an amazing texture. The bacon, chile flakes, and garlic added a very subtle extra dimension to the saffron cream, which was H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y. Creamy and decadent, but not too heavy (my tummy sometimes gets upset with heavy cream sauces), and with the saffron added... oh, god. It was like liquid heaven. And of course, the lobster... can you really go wrong with lobster? Little chunks of red in an light orange cream sauce... it was perfect. My plate was well hailed as the best of the table.
This is how much I loved this dish: I hate peas. I know, it's childish, but I just hate them. I ate them, willingly, and licked my lips after each one, savoring each little tiny bit.
Actually, the leftovers are calling my name from the fridge. I highly recommend this dish if you're ever in Santa Fe!