Incanto – San Francisco, CA [CLOSED]

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Italian Restaurant San Francisco

Incanto chef Chris Cosentino and partner Mark Pastore serve progressive Italian food in Noe Valley.

Incanto was very popular with adventurous diners and the San Francisco literati before executive chef Chris Cosentino competed on “Iron Chef” against Mario Batali in Battle Garlic and more recently, “The Next Iron Chef,” which pitted top chefs from around the country to become the one of Food Network’s next culinary masters. Chef Cosentino writes about his passion for head-to-tail eating on his blog OffalGood.com and translates his culinary transformation of unloved cuts of meat at his restaurant. In addition to offal, Cosentino believes strongly in slow food, choosing to prepare comfort food using the freshest ingredients available. Finally, Cosentino and Mark Pastore (owner of Incanto) have begun a salumi company called Tasty Salted Pig Parts (boccalone.com) that features artisanal pork products.

Incanto sits on a quiet street corner where diners sit in a high-ceiling tribute to authentic Italian cuisine and the legendary “cantos” of Dante’s epic poem. Mantels of the text grace the inside walls of the main dining room. The room is a perfect dim hushed by large dark curtains on the street side and dark carpet to let friendly conversation become not only a possibility, but a comfortable accompaniment to the meal.

Our meal began with a dish of warmed olives, a simple escarole, raisin, and ricotta salad ($8) and “potpie” of pork trotters and kidney. The salad was probably too simple but its light, crisp texture coupled with the sweet raisins and creamy ricotta was a good starter. The potpie’s filling was hearty, as the trotters melted away into small pieces of fat floating in a rich broth. The kidneys reminded me of hefty boudin noirs, slightly chewy but flavorfully metallic. My cousin and I ate with aplomb, as the flaky crust soaked up the broth. My horrified sister, on the other hand, watched in dismay as we sampled Cosentino’s “offal” creation.

For our pasta course, we shared a truffle butter fettuccine with wild mushrooms. The earthy truffle shined in this fresh pasta dish, with the wild mushrooms giving an extra meaty backdrop to the buttery noodles. I had the milk-braised pork leg with polenta, with another sautéed green (the name of which I forget). The pork amazingly felt a little dry, but perhaps because the milk solids bound the meat so well. The creamy polenta was perfection in cornmeal form while the bitter greens, similar to arugula or spinach, contrasted the rich milk-braised pork. My cousin had the remarkable octopus, whose texture resembled an excellent scallop or butter-poached lobster without the richness or chunkiness the shellfish tend to give. The tangy, spicy sauce was accompanied by an aioli made with octopus ink. It was slightly smoky and grainy but paired very well with the octopus. My sister had the cod, which was solid but not worth attention next to the meats.

One thing I noticed was the superb service throughout the meal. Our server was pleasant – not oppressive or stuck-up. She kindly folded our napkins if we had ever left the table to use the restroom. The bussers were quick to shed any extraneous plates or refill our glasses with the complementary house-made sparkling water. It was all so seamless that it made our dinner that much more memorable. It’s expected that the waitstaff would be so professional, as Incanto draws hardcore foodies in one of the most illustrious food cities in the world. I had an opportunity to speak briefly with Chef Cosentino, who was expediting orders just outside the kitchen the entire evening. It’s great to see a chef hard at work in his own restaurant. I thanked him politely and remarked how excellent out meal had been. I also asked him how his experience as a Next Top Chef contender was; he replied by saying that it was extremely difficult but came away with good memories, even finding writer-judge Michael Ruhlman as a new friend. Finally, I asked him how he made the amazing octopus, which he replied by saying was first blanched to set the skin, then braised in a bottle of red wine and its own juices, then grilled to give it a charred texture. It was great talking to a chef passionate about his craft and approach to cooking.

The meal cost $180 for three people including tax and tip with a $30 bottle of red wine. One slight annoyance was the 5% surcharge that comes with every meal, which is reserved for the non-waitstaff in the kitchen. I was confused as to how much tip to leave, in light of the excellent service. I ended up giving an extra 15%, bringing the total to 20%. While I liked the idea, I wished they could have simply said that 5% of the total tip would be given to the kitchen staff without actually charging the customer. Most decent diners would recognize this and give at least 17% total tip, if not 20-25%. Still, the overall experience was worth it and I will definitely be returning.

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Matthew Kang

Find more of Matthew's writing on his blog, Mattatouille. Find him behind the Scoops Westside counter.

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