Now you can order gnocchi through a takeout window across from the Convention Center
“It’s been an idea in the back of my head for a long, long time," says Anna Maria Florio of La Cucina at the Market. And now it's a thing, three days a week at lunchtime.
You’ve bought cheesesteaks, water ice, and ice cream from a takeout window.
Why not gnocchi, as chef Anna Maria Florio was thinking. Gnocchi, those pillowy nubs of potato and flour, have been one of her calling cards for years.
Florio owns La Cucina at the Market, a demonstration kitchen that hosts cooking classes and private events, at 1206 Arch St. in Chinatown, across from the Convention Center and down the block from Reading Terminal Market.
“It’s been an idea in the back of my head for a long, long time,” Florio said. “They’re a big deal in my family, and there’s no pasta in this area — no gnocchi, anyway.”
La Cucina’s stove is just a few feet from the plate-glass front windows. Florio had a sliding window installed in one panel and brought in chef John Taus to set up what she’s calling Gnocchi on Arch. Taus, a familiar figure on the local food scene whose resume includes Tangerine, Buddakan, Angelina, Morimoto, Washington Square, Pod, Bliss, James, Zahav, Snackbar, Pub & Kitchen, Wm. Mulherin’s Sons, Charley Dove, and Twenty Manning, has been consulting lately.
Gnocchi on Arch opened this week with a simple menu: gnocchi in vodka or red sauce ($10), a garden salad ($8), tiramisu ($5), Italian sodas ($4), and water ($3).
Passersby on Thursday did double-takes as Sinatra crooned from a speaker set up at the window, where Taus was selling orders. It’s open for now only at lunchtime (11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) Thursdays through Saturdays.