Ideal Anniversary at Incanto

Boccalone Iberico de Bellota Lardo, Mission
Figs, Hazelnuts and Rose Thyme

I wanted to visit Incanto for a long time since we always found Chris Cosentino’s cooking interesting on television. After getting to meet him in Edmonton when he was appointed NAIT’s Culinary Arts program Chef in Residence for 2013, I wanted to go even more. Thankfully I got an opportunity to visit San Francisco in the fall and convinced the humans to have their belated wedding anniversary dinner there. Unfortunately Incanto will be closing their doors on March 24, 2014 after being part of the community for 12 years. Thankfully the team behind Incanto will be opening another restaurant in the same location. Porcellino will be a casual, neighbourhood restaurant, offering all day, and will also serve as a marketplace where visitors can Italian fare to take home such as pasta, meats, and specialty foods.

Sea Urchin, Salmon Roe and Purslane Potato Salad

We started the meal with Boccalone Ibérico di Bellota lardo, mission figs, hazelnuts and rose thyme. The fresh figs were sweet, enrobed in a rich lardo that melted on my tongue immediately, contrasted by crunchy hazelnuts. The dish was so fatty and delicious, however I did wish for some acidity to cut through all of the richness. Next was a sea urchin, salmon roe and purslane-potato salad. This was the most decadent potato salad I had ever tasted, topped with creamy sea urchin, and mildly salty roe. I don’t think I could look down on potato salad if it were normally served with such luxurious ingredients.

EEK! Feeb!!!  *MooFaint*

For my entrée, I enjoyed handkerchief pasta with rustic pork ragù. The pasta was thin and delicate, with small bits of pork ragù, all lovingly caressed by velvety egg yolk. The humans also had their “Feeb & Broccoli” Feeb heart, calf’s brain, broccoli, chili and shallot. They found the feeb itself had a strange crunchy texture to it, although not tough. They enjoyed the calf brain (Moofaint!) saying it was similar to liver in taste, but milder and smoother.

Blue Cheese Ice Cream, Poached Pear
and Hazelnuts

To finish the evening, I ordered a sweet corn panna cotta with nectarine and honey. The 
panna cotta was mildly sweet from honey, and the sweet corn gave the panna cotta some texture other than the singularly noted silkiness it normally has. The blue cheese ice cream, poached pear and hazelnuts was more of a savoury dessert with a distinctive blue cheese flavour, married perfectly with a sweet and crispy pear.

Overall we enjoyed our meal at Incanto and are sad it is closing, but will look forward to visiting the newly opened Porcellino on our next visit to San Francisco. If you are able to visit Incanto before they close their doors, you won’t regret it!

More photos at PhotoBucket!

Incanto
1550 Church Street @ Duncan Street
San Francisco, CA  94131
415-641-4500
Twitter: @IncantoSF