Front Burner: Nothing but Gnocchi

Patavini, a company in Padua, Italy, manufactures tender potato gnocchi, to sell wholesale, in myriad flavors. Luca Marco Giraldin, an owner, has now opened a retail outpost in New York. Porcini, pumpkin, spinach, buckwheat with cumin, squid ink, Cajun pepper, truffle and beetroot are a few of the savory options at this elegant little shop.…

Front Burner: The Not-So-Sweet Side of Sugar

James Walvin, a professor emeritus of history at the University of York in England, will discuss his book “Sugar: The World Corrupted, From Slavery to Obesity,” at the Brooklyn Historical Society. He promises not to sweeten the very fraught story of this culinary staple. “The Not-So-Sweet History of Sugar,” Tuesday, 6:30 to 8 p.m., $10…