Baby, it's cold outside so you know what that means...

....carbs, carbs, and more carbs! As most of you know, I can't turn down a carbohydrate (or chocolate, for that matter) and when the temperature drops, the noodle soups and penne alla vodka turn up. It also doesn't help that my boyfriend only eats (and hence shares with me)foodstuffs that end in parmigiana or bolognese.

So, during a recent chilly night, we ventured to Lil Frankie's, the most casual of the three Frank restaurants. Decked in vintage "heirlooms" and catering to a variety of pastavores (from LES hipsters to UES yuppies), the aroma of heavily seasoned marinara sauce immediately hit me square in the face.

First, we started off with mussels marinara that was served with the most incredible peasant bread I've ever tasted. The airy, thick slices sopped up every ounce of marinara deliciousness and the mussels were hearty and plump. Definitely a great way to prep the tastebuds for what was to come.

We then shared a thin-crust margherita pizza that was probably the most forgettable dish of the night. In my mind, it was merely a barrier to the main event: hearty gnocchi and mezzi rigatoni with baby meatballs. (Don't worry, there were three of us. Ew, that's still an exorbitant amount of food.)

Now, I know I JUST posted about the most delicious gnocchi at Da Silvano but Lil Frankie's gnocchi were a terrific poor man's version of the Da Silvano classic. The thick, blood red sauce coated each little pillow perfectly and the freshly grated parmigiano cheese was evident yet not overpowering. The mezzi rig was probably the weakest pasta dish since I prefer meatballs that don't look like turds. Once I got past the appearance, they were pretty tasty but probably would have soaked up better flavor as a meat sauce instead of mini-meatballs.

Considering the low price-point, cool atmosphere, and abundance of cold weather Italian comfort food, I will definitely be returning to this little gem.

Da Silvano: are taste and elbow room inversely related?

It seems as though the less elbow room a restaurant in NY has, the bigger, bolder and more delicious the food tastes.  This theory was definitely proven true as I dined en masse (party of 6)  at Da Silvano. Seriously, I thought the waiter would poke my eye out as he opened a bottle of wine for the table directly across from us. 

However, I would not be discouraged: I would order a no-knife-required arugula and Parmigiano Reggiano salad and the gnocchi with lobster and tomato so I would not give my fellow diners a black eye. 

The salad was refreshingly light and seasoned with the perfect amount of salt and pepper to balance the bitterness of the arugula.  Oh, and the hefty shavings of Parmigiano didn't exactly hurt.

Now, let's get dirty and talk about these delightfully tender pasta pillows.  Gnocchi is just one of those pastas that's either really bad (heavy, doughy, heavy on the sauce retention) or really, really good (light, fluffy, soaks up the proper flavor).  The gnocchi at Da Silvano was simply perfect: a healthy portion (truth be told, I had to dole out a good amount), mild tomato sauce complemented the succulent lobster insanely well. I didn't want the dish to ever end.

 Photo: Bene.com

I left the wine list selections up to the birthday girl so I can only assume it included a range of Italian varietals and prices as we downed three (or was it four?) bottles. 

Definitely great for an "occasion" dinner but only with four people max.  You don't want to go elbowing anyone while they're eating.

Artisanal: Should it really be called a fromagerie?

I've always had relatively positive Restaurant Week experiences (best: Gramercy Tavern and Spice Market; worst: Vong). So, since I'd always pass Artisanal on my way home and have an abnormal love of cheese, I thought it would be the ideal RW match.

Karlyn and I decided the last Friday of RW would be the night of our Artisanal experience. Arriving about 15 minutes late, we were hurried to our table and from that moment on, we were constantly being hovered over by servers and bus boys. However, I was willing to overlook the over-eager waitstaff but that "wow" moment never actually came.

First course: parmigiano gnocchi with summer veggies. These were the most enormous gnocchi I had ever seen and were probably also the dryest. They tasted more like flour balls with a dusting of cheese than anything else.

Second course: Moroccan salmon with couscous. Perfectly cooked salmon with a nice, flavorful glaze. Paired with the couscous, this course balanced out the heavy, rock-like gnocchi quite nicely.

Third course: Obviously, the cheese plate, consisting of three different cheeses and ZERO accoutrement. Literally, there were just three little slabs on the plate. The waitress didn't even do an adequate job explaining what each cheese was as she was probably too focused on shoving us out the door. Again, tasty but subpar for a fromagerie.

If you're looking for great cheese in a less harried and hectic setting, try Tarallucci i Vino. They'll definitely please your taste buds AND give you the attention you're looking for.