The Best Thing I Ate All Week: Gnocchi at Stable House Bistro

This dumpling dish steals the spotlight at a South Granville neighbourhood wine bar.

Dry January was probably not the best time to grab dinner at a wine bar, I’ll admit.Two weeks into a period of self-enforced post-holiday teetotaling, my partner I were cozied up at a table for two at Stable House Bistro. Tucked alongside a dreamily lit cork-lined feature wall, drumming up little date night magic after an all-family-all-the-time Christmas blitz, I have never wanted a glass of pinot noir more. It had been a long week, the list of recommended bottles on the chalkboard was smartly curated, and everyone around us was sipping and laughing and cultivating an attractive buzz. All signs pointed to wine. We chastely sipped our waters (sparkling, because we’re classy), each privately hoping the other would be the one to break the 12-day-old game of sobriety chicken so we could just get a bottle, already.But then, our dishes arrived, and all the wines left un-drunk were forgotten. Because when you eat the best gnocchi you’ve ever had, it turns out all your other problems melt away. When you take a pillowy nugget and swipe it through parmesan foam, or spear an artfully charred Brussels sprout that’s picked up the umami notes from the anchovy, or get a hint of crunchy almonds in your bite alongside roasted cauliflower, a glass of wine would just be a distraction. I could do Dry January all year long, it turns out—just keep this dreamy dish coming.Gnocchi (changes seasonally), $19, thestablehouse.ca

More from the “Best Thing I Ate All Week” series:

Queso Fundido at La Mezcaleria

Lemon Danish from Duft & Co. Bakehouse

Rosemary Chocolate Cookie from Beaucoup