Pink Slip Gourmet: Gnocchi, My Love (A Love Letter)

I'm sure you all can assume by now that I absolutely adore French food. I mean, I hope so. A lot of time, money, and effort has been spent over the past year to learn as much as possible about French food. Your assumption, then, is 100% right. However, I have a teeny tiny little secret I will share with you and only you so I hope you can keep a secret.

I am a fiend for Italian food.

Maybe my love of all things Italian stems from my parents low-cholestrol diet in the 1990's when as the youngest sibling by six years I was essentially the only child home on a regular basis and was thus exposed to copious amounts of chicken and pasta. Who knows, though? Maybe it it started earlier with my love of spaghetti O's. All I know is that pretty much all kinds of Italian food is welcome on my plate (Northern, Southern, Sicilian, Tuscan, healthy, not so healthy, you get the idea).

So, when my adorable husband stumbled upon an Italian bottega around the corner from our tiny boite, I was more than elated. Not only does La Bottega Di Pastavino sell panninis that are perfect for an al fresco lunch on the close by Pont des Arts, but they also sell loads and loads of homemade, fresh pastas, side dishes and antipastas.

No need to say "Bonjour" when you walk through the door of this establishment. Bonjourno and ciao are used much more frequently. If you close your eyes and only use your senses, you will be transported to a small family store somewhere in Italy. Your ears hearing the staff behind the counter speaking italian, your nose smelling the aroma of parmesan reggiano cheese, olives, roasted red peppers and spinach ravioli. It is pure Italian heaven.

Ok, I think I've made it obvious that I love this place. What I haven't expressed to you yet is that I would do anything for the woman who makes the gnocchi, and I mean anything. My tastebuds get excited just watching my order be filled. A simple white towel is lifted and underneath sit the beautiful slightly oval shaped pockets of potato dumpling perfection. Enough for one or two portions is scooped into a box and weighed on a scale. While I would pay much more for it, I am happy to pay only a handful of euros. There are no directions that accompany this divinely simple dish. Simply boil and salt some water, pop in the gnocchi and allow them to rise to the top. Drain, and if you are like me and have a nonexistant kitchen, top the gnocchi with the best pesto ever put in a jar bought, of course, from La Bottega Di Pastavino.

Now, if you aren't in the mood for the deliciousness I just described, the bottega has probably close to 10 fresh pastas, many more dried, as well as other italian dishes ready to reheat/eat and of course the panninis. Don't forget to grab a bottle of Chianti while you are there as they have a small collection of Italian wines for sale.