Incanto, an offally delicious trattoria

Although it's not as sexy as A16, as trendy as Delfina, nor as pedigreed as Quince, Incanto may be the most innovative and inspired of San Francisco's many Italian trattorias.

Tucked away on the outskirts of Noe Valley, Incanto suffers from being off many restaurant patron's radar screens. It bears the unfortunate distinction of being the southernmost restaurant within the San Francisco city limits on the Chronicle's list of the Top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area.

A few years back, the owner, Mark Pastore, took the small fortune he made in the software industry and bought a dilapidated old German restaurant at the corner of Church and Duncan Streets. He stripped it down to its frame and spared no expense to lovingly convert it into the type of rustic trattoria that dots the Tuscan countryside. The dining room is awash in neutral Al Gore earth tones, from the stone pavers beneath your feet to the antiqued brick and stucco walls. Through a set of monastic arches, you have a clear view of the bar area and a glimpse into the buzzing activity in the kitchen.

The food that comes out of that kitchen is what draws me to Incanto again and again. The chef is Chris Cosentino, an iconoclast sporting spiky bleached hair, a goatee, and thick-rimmed Elvis Costello glasses. Although foolishly never tagged as a Rising Star by the Chronicle, Chris creates some of the most interesting food in the city. His daily changing menus take the concept of sustainability seriously - perhaps even more so than Chez Panisse. For one, he and Mark have worked together to make Incanto the first and only restaurant in California to receive "Certified Humane" certification. What really sets Chris - and Incanto - apart from the crowd, however, is his refusal to let any part of the animal go to waste.

Like his hero British chef Fergus Henderson, every night Chris features one or two dishes made from the innards, extremities and other odd cuts of meat that most chefs ignore. Two years ago, he began what has become an annual tradition, "Dining Head to Tail," in which every course features something from the "fifth quarter." I missed the first two events, but others - including Nancy Oakes, Mario Batali, and Fergus Henderson himself - have enjoyed menus that in the past even included a chocolate pudding thickened with pig's blood! Our own local bloggers, the BunRabs, were in attendance last year and shared - in their inimitable witty style - their experience and photos in their review titled "No Guts, No Glory."

I've already made my reservations for the next "Dining Head to Tail" dinner, which takes place in a few weeks on Monday, March 6. The tentative 5-course menu includes the following for $60:

• Beef heart tartare puttanesca
• Marin mountain oysters with pancetta afumicata and capers
• Finanziera, Piemontese market stew of cockscombs, sweetbreads, and sanguinaccio
• Spring lamb trio with spicy lentils, lemon and mint
• Suet pudding with chocolate blood gelato

{Gee, who knew their were oysters in the mountains of Marin! Gosh, do you think he meant "chocolate blood orange gelato"?}

On my most recent visit to Incanto a week or two ago, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, which although relatively more prosaic was no less delicious. I started with local sardines (now you know the true reason I like this place) that had been lightly cured ceviche-style and were served with a salad of bitter curly-leafed puntarella and radishes.

Next I lapped up every bit of my flavorful seafood stew, in which every one of the clams, mussels, squid and head-on shrimp were as perfectly tender as their counterparts found in Spain and Italy. That favorable comparison is the highest compliment I can pay any seafood preparation in California, where I've found even the best restaurants sadly tend to overcook fish and shellfish.

For dessert, I was lured in by the combination of cardamom pastry cream, kumquats, and chocolate sauce in a napolean-like puff pastry creation. Although it didn't quite live up to my expectations, it was not bad.

Incanto's beverage service is as innovative and concerned with sustainability as the food. Mark, the owner, offers his guests complimentary local Hetch Hetchy water that has been filtered and, if desired, carbonated in order to reduce the number of bottles in landfills and recycling bins. The restaurant also offers all the wines on the excellent all-Italian wine list by the full- and half-glass. To help educate people less familiar with Italian wines, Mark cleverly places around the base of each glass a cardboard ring inscribed with the producer's name and the wine's region and vintage. Various wine flights are also on offer.

There are more clever touches and innovative approaches at Incanto that you can read about on their website here. I've said enough. Go to Incanto! Support this caring and wonderful little trattoria. Make the trek southward to Noe Valley, especially during the weekdays, which are less busy than they ought to be.

Perhaps I'll bump into some of you at the "Dining Head to Tail" meal on March 6?

Incanto
1550 Church St.
San Francisco
415-641-4500

Food|and Drink|Restaurants|Italian|San Francisco

Comments

[David]

I ate at Incanto a few times when it just opened and was really impressed (although I did miss the German place that it took over.)

Enjoy your Head-to-Tail experience; I'll be dining at St. John's in March as well, although I'm not as brave as you.

Pray for me, St. Brett...

[yoony]

oh this is making me so hungry! and drooly. i'll have to check the restaurant out next time i'm in SF. hopefully soon.

[Silversara]

I love Incanto! Haven't been there in a while and you've made me absolutely *need* to go back as soon as possible... the photos look delicious!

[Joy]

Brett,

I adore Incanto but find the service to be a bit cool at times. I also think the menu can be less accessible to your average diner. This post makes me want to go there NOW!

[Brett]

David, I'll pray for you, even though deep down I'm envious. Some day I'll make a pilgramage to St. John's (and while I'm there, maybe Paris?). Chris was not the original chef at Incanto. The first guy was good, but I think Chris' food displays more passion and innovation.

yoony, I encourage you (and everyone) to check out Incanto next time you're in town.

Silversara, my secret agenda is always to make people hungry, so I'm glad it worked. Welcome to IPOS, too. I checked out your blog on cooking your way through "The Silver Spoon." Looks like fun!

Joy, I've heard a few others complain about the service, but I've not had that experience. Give me free sparkling water, a fantastic basket of bread (I forgot to mention that in my post), an interesting wine list and menu and I'll happily sit for hours. It's true the menu is not accessible to everyone. But, then again, does every menu have to be accessible to everyone? No. They can choose to go elsewhere. Frankly, though, the pastas are great too, and who doesn't like pasta?

[shuna fish lydon]

Last year I took my friend Jessica for her birthday. I tried tripe for the first time as well as head-cheese. But, like for you, the desserts sound better than they appear in the mouth.

We had an Offal tasting menu at The Fr. Laundry. In the course of a few weeks @8 people ordered it: a 4 top of German men and another of Japanese men. It takes a lot of guts but also persistance to pull off what Chris has. His demeanor is perfect for it.

(Joy--- the next time you go just pretend you are at King Arthur's table...it makes the atmosphere make more sense.)

[Sonali]

Hi...You've got an Entertaining website. And yes sardines do exist (as u wrote earlier)...we love them. Trattoria is Italian for Restaurant ?

[Brett]

Hi Sonali, thanks for dropping by IPOS. Trattoria is the Italian word for a less formal restaurant or tavern. In the Bay Area, we use the word to describe just about any kind of restaurant that specializes in Italian cuisine, just as we use the word bistro to describe restaurants that serve French food. Using the words trattoria or bistro are meant to convey that the restaurant serves nice, rustic food in an atmosphere more casual than a deluxe 4-star establishment.

[keiko]

Brett, I can't resist the sardines! All of your photos are wonderful.

[Ms. Glaze]

Oh man, you're making me miss home. I love the pics. Some one gave me a gift certificate to Incanto and it's still waiting to be used– too bad I'm all the way across the Atlantic! When I cooked at Ristorante Ecco (now closed) in SF we used to get gorgeous sardines in. Let me know if you want need recettes!