incanto san francisco

For our anniversary, Dan surprised me with a trip to San Francisco!!

The night we got in, we had a little bit of time to get settled in before walking to our secret dinner reservations...


at Incanto!!!


There's a three-month wait to get reservations at this beautiful Noe Valley restaurant... if you were to have to wait that long (and not be surprised by your partner), then the wait is definitely worth it!
This particular restaurant is owned by Mark Pastore with the menu headed by chef Chris Cosentino, known in the food world for his passion for offal. If you're an adventurous eater, and are visiting or living in San Francisco, this restaurant is a must.

When Dan and I went, we were so. freaking. excited. A little nervous, but mostly excited. We got to Incanto a little bit early, but our hostess was super friendly and seated us right away... we had the friendliest and most helpful waiter (who was rockin an awesome stache), and we went ahead and ordered the most adventurous things we could get in our tummies... along with a bottle of amazing wine.
First out was a beautiful bread plate with an olive tapenade::

 My favorite was the crusty, rustic loaf slices. The inside was silky and tender, with a crust that crunched like snapping twigs. Okay, okay, I had two favorites. The little breadsticks were addicting; crispy, crunchy little sticks of heaven. I don't know what in the world was in them, but if these were drugs, I would gladly be addicted.

Then came the appetizers... the Boccalone Salumi platter, and the Lardo with Pears and Walnuts.

 

The salumi was... amazing. We got the smallest amount served at Incanto (charmingly called the Piglet), and it was just enough cured meat goodness for two:: proscuitto, bologne, head cheese, and a simple pâté. When paired with a wine from the region in Italy from where bologne originated, it was taken to a new height. Did you ever think you could pair savory, meaty, slightly salty bologne with sweet, slightly fruity and slightly acidic and slightly carbonated red wine? ...well, you can. And it's heaven.

 

The lardo came out with the salumi plate, however we were advised to wait and allow the lardo itself to come to room temperature. In case you don't know what lardo is, think of butter... made out of meat. It's the fatty part of a pig's back (cured with herbs and spices, naturally), and it's glorious. Well worth the little uptick in artery-clogging cholesterol that made it into my blood stream... But then it was paired with seasonal, fresh, crisp pears. The creamy, almost bacon-y fat balanced by a juicy, crunchy and fresh pear that was perfectly not too warm and not too cold, and let's not forget the paper-thin walnuts slices that added an element of earthiness and a subtle meaty tenderness, and the little garnishes of fresh herbs to add a certain clean balance of flavor at the end of every bite. (Are you wanting to just have this in front of you to devour it? I am. Right now.)

By the time we had finished devouring our amazing starters, we had a bit of time to sit, sip at the large bottles of sparkling and still water served to our table (in between copious amounts of an amazing Italian red wine, of course), and nibble on more of that wonderful, fresh bread.

Before we knew it, the main courses had arrived. Dan had ordered an amazing pig jowl that was served with an amazing risotto, while I delved into the world of Bird Bits.

 At first, it had sounded like a great idea. Chicken combs, fry, and an egg over easy on a bruschetta, with fresh herbs and spices. The dish itself was beautiful. I had never tried combs before, but I can say that the texture is a little gelatinous, but also very tender and meaty at the same time. I would definitely eat Chicken combs again, no questions asked. However, the fry got me. Up until recently, there was only one kind of fry in my world: one made from a potato, with salt and maybe ranch or mayonnaise, depending on how I feel. That kind of fry, I adore. The crispy, greasy goodness is good for my soul. On this night, I learned of a second kind of fry, and I do not like it one bit. In layman's terms, fries are testicles. They are supposed to be slightly salty and slightly creamy, but the texture is what threw me over the edge (and it maybe didn't help that I felt absolutely stuffed from all the salumi, bread, lardo, pears, and wine we had been devouring); it started with being slightly creamy, but quickly turned into being a weird, slimy, almost mucus-y sensation that creeped through my mouth. I couldn't handle it, and instead picked at the delicious and wonderfully seasoned bruschetta and the combs I had yet to devour. I was very very sad to leave behind such an adventurous dish (which I could tell was created and prepared with care), but my little belly felt as though it would explode, and I was thoroughly finished with the horrid fry. (Dan tried a little bite of the fry with me, and decided that he really liked it, and in fact preferred it to his very rich jowl)

Washing down the weird flavors and textures with the last bit of a very expensive (but well worth it) bottle of wine, our waiter presented us with little glasses of a wonderful dessert wine, a 2009 Malvasia Rosetta, the restaurant's gift to us as we celebrated our fourth anniversary. It was fruity and sweet, a perfect end to a perfect meal.

Thank you, Incanto. We will definitely be seeing you again.