Incanto

Incanto was something special. Run by Chris Cosentino (pioneer in the field of offal, winner of Top Chef Masters, and comic book character) and partner Mark Pastore, they did things with meat that I’ve never experienced elsewhere.
Sadly, Incanto closed on 3÷24÷14 after a 12 year run:
It was briefly replaced by a new more casual offering run by the same 2 guys, Porcellino, but that shuttered after 6 months:
You can still find Mark and Chris’ salted pig parts at Boccalone. They sell the most fabulous salumi at their shop in the Embarcadero Ferry Building, as well as the Grand Lake, San Rafael, and Temescal farmers’ markets.
You can also dine at Chris Cosentino’s new restaurant in SoMa, Cosckcomb:

A Penultimate Dinner at Incanto is …
… a bustling, spacious room.
… a reservation to avoid a 2 hour wait at the bar.
… an efficient server.
… a plate of bread and tapenade.
… a «piglet» sized Boccalone salumi platter.
… a sinus clearing grainy mustard.
… overly tart pickled radishes and carrots.
… a pleased mortadella aficionado.
… a big ol’ bison head.
… a view of Chef Cosentino bustling behind the bar.
… a retort of «All I see are pigs’ asses.»
… a comforting bowl of hearty Handkerchief Pasta and pork ragù
… an oozy duck egg on top.
… green «Bitter Hipster» Rotelli pasta
… dandelion green pesto, pinenuts, and pecorino shavings.
… sea salt sprinkled chocolate budino
… fior di latte with chopped hazelnuts, chocolate, and olive oil.
… and thankfulness for whoever invented Nutella.
… a brisk walk
… singing the Oscar Mayer bologna commercial
… and a reminder to visit Porcellino.

One of my favorite food blogger mention celebrating his birthday at Incanto and immediately I was intrigued with this place. After all, Chef Constantino is amazing!
Reservation for this place is a must on the weekend. Oh heck, any day of the week too! I’m so glad our dinner time was leisure to chit chat and unwind with some wine.
We started off with some smoked salmon on a toasted brioche to a delicious spaghettini that makes you want to lick the plate clean to milk braised ravioli so scrumptious and delectable to finishing it off with panna cotta dessert was delightful.
From beginning to end, the food was delicious, the service was outstanding, and the place itself was charming. I hope you give this place a try. Cheers!

Strengths: I’ve been here twice, and both times, the pasta dishes were the highlight of the meal. The first time, we ordered bucatini with green onions, roasted garlic, and a raw egg. As simple as it sounds it was one of the best pasta dishes I have ever eaten. So good, I even tried to make replicate it. The second time we had sphegettini with tuna heart, garlic, cilantro, plus the raw egg also. Absolutely fabulous. I’m convinced my third visit will be wonderful, even though I cannot repeat dishes since their menu changes all the time. Pork belly was also delish.
Weaknesses: The restaurant itself is not the most comfortable. The first time I sat in a chair and found it wobbly. The second I sat at a booth which has a long cushion that extended most of the wall. I kept moving my neighbor when I scooted around; he moved me; and I kept feeling someone’s phone vibrate. Not cool.
Opportunities: My common complaint when dining out is the servers often overcrowd your table making the dining quite awkward and rushed. Tables for two are generally small. So at a fine dining establishment I would expect the server to: serve the food at a slower pace, split your shared dishes in the kitchen, etc. Our servers nicely moved our two flights of wine (7 glasses), water glasses, water bottle, bread plates and baskets, etc… but needless to say we felt cramped. If this part of service was increased, five stars!
Threats: This is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in SF. In Napa, Bottega… all day long!
Total: $ 140 for 2 ppl.

People weren’t kidding when they said this place was offal!
Had to check it out before Chef Chris Constantino closes shop and reopens it into something new! Known for the ‘offal’ food. Being Asian, I’m down for eating some ‘weird’ stuff! I shared a few dishes with Regina. We started with bone marrow with sweet bread. The bone marrow was alright and the sweet bread was better than I’ve had at most places.
The handkerchief pasta and rustic pork ragu was very good. The pasta was super tender! Our favorite was the spaghettini with sardinian cured tuna heart, egg yolk, and parsley. It had so much flavor, I couldn’t believe it! Next, we got the lamb neck with polenta and a horseradish gremolata. Super tender and full of flavor! Our last dish was a braised pork shoulder with lentils, mushrooms, and pickled ramps. Our dessert was a chocolate budino, fior di latte with hazelnuts.
Overall the meal was really good. I didn’t try the pig head ribollita and snails, but sampled the sea urchin and sorrel risotto. Lots of good flavors, very inventive, and am very glad I got a chance to try it out. The Chef was also in the house expediting, so that was refreshing to see.
CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT OPENS IN ITS PLACE!