The Best Gnocchi I've Ever Had

A space on Bedford Avenue that was once part of a church has been transformed into an elegant, dimly lit, Italian restaurant called Sud.

Sud opened up two months ago, after five months of renovations and design, and changes are still being made.

“When I got this place, it was a disaster,” owner Giuseppe DiFranco told me, who has been in the restaurant business for twenty years.  

Now, shelves of Italian wines glow from behind the bar on one wall, and a series of photographs by Dick Kranzler hang in a row against exposed brick on the other side.

The style is a subtle mix of modern meets antique–the lights are single bulbs hanging from knotted red cords, and one of the tables uses a section of a church pew as the seating.

After a few minutes of snapping pictures of the dining room and bar, DiFranco cuts in.

“Now for the important part: The food,” he said.

The menu is divided into crostini, insalate, antipasti, pasta and dessert, along with a long wine list. Menu options will change for the summer months, featuring lighter dishes and seasonal ingredients. 

Every time I have eaten crostini I thought the bread was too hard to eat, like a jaw-breaking cracker. The crostini here, topped with creamy goat cheese and roasted red peppers marinated in a slightly spicy sauce, is crispy with a soft center. Each piece has pesto sauce drizzled on top.

For a main dish I tried the gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce, and I actually teared up when I took the first bite.

“It melts in your mouth,” DiFranco told me. I’ve never experienced such an exact translation of the phrase. The gnocchi, made at the restaurant, seems unrelated to the potato. It is so creamy that it literally just melts away as soon as it passes your lips.

The gorgonzola sauce is strong, rich and thick. I am a huge fan of gorgonzola, and the sharp flavor is perfect. I can’t do this dish justice with any description. You just have to try it. But like I said, best gnocchi I’ve ever tasted.

Dessert was the panna cotta which, literally translated, means “cooked cream.” The dessert looks like flan, but is much thicker and creamier and not as gelatinous. It’s filled with huckleberries and topped with a strawberry sauce. If you like cream as much as I do, definitely try this dessert.

Sud is in the process of building a backyard garden, and in a month or so, DiFranco hopes to offer outdoor seating and the occasional barbecue.

I can’t wait to come back when the garden is open. And although I keep telling myself I will try something else on the menu, I may just have to get that gnocchi again.