34045 Sun Jan 30 14:32:37 -0800 2005 2 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 153045 Took a friend to Incanto for her birhday. She and her boyfriend aren't big eaters so we ordered a bit lighter than usual, then ended up pigging out on dessert. Movia sparkling rose (100% pinot noir), even better than the brut amuse of chicken liver pate on toast appetizers: - olives - beet and orange salad - shaved fennel and apple, wonderful idea - new potato and beef tripe salad - lentil soup, light and simple Palari Rosso del Soprano (nerello mascalese & nerello capuccio) pastas: - bigoli all'Amatriciana, killer thanks to the housemade guanciale - handkerchiefs with boar ragu, good but not as unctuous as the usual pork - maccheroni spinati with chard, pine nuts, & currants Valle dell'Acate Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2002 secondi: - Sardinian shellfish stew - "Il Peposo," beef stew (Google "Peposo Brunelleschi" for the story) Ca Rossa Brachetto 2003 desserts: - rice pudding tart - "macchiato mousse," mocha mousse with a layer of cake topped with whipped cream and served in a coffee cup, best new chocolate dessert I've had in a while, the cake layer's a stroke of genius - ginger marsala cake with ginger compote - pear crostata with a sweet gorgonzola sauce, incredible flavor combination though the pastry needed work - grapefruit-Campari sorbetto, perfect cleansing taste to end the meal That sorbetto reminded me of Barolo chinato so I ordered a glass and it was a great pairing. No panna cotta! The pastry chef wanted a change. Sun Jan 30 14:32:37 -0800 2005 0 Robert Lauriston 1 153047 Thanks for your report, Robert. Apps sounded pretty basic (except for that tripe salad), but the rest of the meal sounded appealing to me. Mousse and crostata sounded great. Questions: 1) What is the shape of bigoli pasta? 2) Can you elaborate on the rice pudding tart in terms of what it consisted of and how it tasted overall? Thanks. Sun Jan 30 14:45:33 -0800 2005 153045 0 Carb Lover 2 153050 Bigoli's a long extruded pasta, something like fresh spaghetti, traditionally made with whole wheat flour. I forgot I stuck the dessert menu in my pocket: - rice pudding with mace-infused caramel & blood orange (actually I think it was just in a mold, not a crust) - chocolate macchiato mousse with cocoa nib biscotto - ginger marsala cake with apple compote & spiced creme fraiche - bosc pear crostata with port reduction & gorgonzola dolce semifreddo (wasn't a sauce, it melted before I got around to trying it) - Campari-grapefruit sorbetto with candied citrus Sun Jan 30 15:15:47 -0800 2005 153047 0 Robert Lauriston