As many incredible bites of food as we ate in San Francisco during our trip, we had only three meals that were perfect, from start to finish. One was at Contigo. The other was at Bouchon, which you’ll hear about later.
The third was at Incanto.
Incanto is the restaurant that came before Boccalone, run by Frank Pastore and Chris Consentino. It’s a small, neighborhood place, with food done right.
To tell you the truth, we couldn’t decide between a meal at Incanto or Nopa that night. They both came so highly recommended. We adore Italian food, which is what Incanto does. But our friend Anita told us that Nopa has “…the pork chop of the gods.” That’s hard to resist.
In the end, we couldn’t get a reservation at Nopa. We drove to Incanto, hoping we didn’t get our second choice.
Oh my, no. This place is first choice, all the way.
See the pig on the top left-hand shelf? We knew were in good hands.
Danny loved sitting at this table, because he could see the cooks preparing our food. He loves open kitchens.
Oh look, he has just put up our salumi platter!
If you’re going to buy a salumi platter anywhere in San Francisco, I imagine this is the place you’d want to buy that salumi.
(Of course, if you know of somewhere better, be sure to tell us!)
Why? It’s Boccalone salumi, of course. There’s salami, and mortadella, roasted garlic, porky nibbles, and everything appetizing.
What you see above is head cheese. And I have to say — this was the only disappointment of the evening. Since Danny makes head cheese at home, we expected this to be out of this world. Instead, it had — strangely — no taste. It was as though the finished meat had been gently washed in spring water, repeatedly. Could I have the one that was not bathed?
But the terrine you see at the top of that photograph? That was one of the smoothest, most perfectly seasoned terrines that either one of us has ever eaten.
A great salumi plate.
I have to apologize for the photographs at this point. Incanto is dimly lit by candles and reflected lighting. A perfect dining experience? Yes. Good for taking photographs of pork? Not so much.
Still, we have to share this one with you.
Cotechino sausage is a traditional Italian sausage, usually made around the new year. It has pork belly, pork shoulder, and pork skin, among other ingredients. When it is simmered slowly, for hours, the sausage has a lovely mouth feel: crisp skin with a tender inside. Your teeth bounce against it.
This was Danny’s plate, but I kept stealing bites.
That was only fair, because he wanted to eat half of this dish.
Again, the photograph doesn’t do it justice. This is a simple dish — braised pork shoulder with warm polenta and roasted vegetables. But the pork shoulder was so tender that I cut it with the back of my spoon. The meat fell apart in my mouth. The polenta felt like comforting pap, the vegetables a bit of bite in the midst of all that softness. Oh my, I kept sighing. Oh my.
I could probably eat this dish every day and be happy.
You want to go to Incanto.
Incanto
1550 Church Street
(on the southwest corner of Church and Duncan Streets in San Francisco’s Noe Valley)
415-641-4500
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I’ve eaten at Incanto too and thought it was wonderful. So good that I gave my son a $100 gift certificate to Incanto for his 22nd birthday (he live in SF). Good charcuterie.
There’s a new(ish) charcuterie called Adesso, in Oakland. The pate is beyond words.
The salumi, to die. Each one more tasty and melty than the last. So delish. I highly recommend a visit next time you’re in the Bay area. Cross the bridge, you won’t be sorry.