501083 Thu Mar 20 12:54:53 -0700 2008 2 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 3511828 Last night I went to Incanto with two friends for a celebration. They had never been before. We sat at the bar and shared: -citrus and shaved fennel with red onion and olive -fluke crudo -asparagus, yellowfoot chanterelles, spring onion and egg -pig's trotter with foie, bacon and pear -bucatini with cured tuna heart and egg yolk -barolo malfatti, chicory, pine nuts and pecorino -lamb liver with leeks -bay leaf panna cotta For the first time I was eating here with a vegetarian. Generally I like the veg appetizers, but haven't paid attention to the vegetarian pastas or entrees, so it was interesting to look at the menu in a new light. There were 2-3 vegetarian appetizers, one pasta, and one entree. My friend doesn't eat fish, so she couldn't have the vegetable appetizer that included anchovies or the tuna heart pasta. The vegetarian entree didn't appeal to her, so she had the entree-sized portion of pasta (barolo malfatti) and liked it--I didn't get to try it. Overall, the highlights of the meal for me were the trotter, lamb liver, and bucatini. The trotter was chopped and served with the foie on toast, with chunks of cooked pear on the side. It was fantastic; the texture reminded me a bit of the exceptional tongue at Oliveto's whole hog dinner. The bucatini is my go-to dish: I love, love, love it. When I come by myself, usually I get that and a glass of wine. The cured heart is shaved onto a pile of beautifully al dente bucatini, on top of which rests a bright yolk. Pierce the yolk, mix everything together, and this will transport you better than Calgon ever could. Liver: dear lord. This was an upscale take on liver and onions, and it was incredible. I've had liver several times before this; it has always been cooked through. This liver was seared and still a warm red in the center. The flavor was rich, deep, and offset by the lovely braised leeks. Exactly the opposite of the undistinguished gray mass my grandmother sometimes cooked. Fluke crudo was just OK for me--I had been to Bar Crudo just the previous week, so I was harder than usual to impress. The asparagus dish was good but didn't stand out, and for some reason the flavor of the citrus and fennel dish didn't come together for me. My friends liked all three dishes, so it's just a matter of personal taste. We ended on a good note: the always welcome bay leaf panna cotta, dotted at the top with specks of vanilla bean. If someone licked the ramekin, I'm not telling. Like always, service was warm and personable. They mixed up our entree and brought out pork shoulder instead. When our server discovered the error, he apologized and later brought us a round of dessert wines. An entirely lovely experience. I feel lucky to have Incanto as a neighborhood restaurant. Thu Mar 20 12:54:53 -0700 2008 19097 pane 1 3512050 i went with two people on sunday night. we got the antipasto as an app. overall, this was not a big hit, but parts were fought over. the mortadella was savored (and inquired into how one buys it in bulk... answer: delissio), but the head cheese was tried and then left alone. i and another had the bucatini with tuna heart, based on the numerous raves on the board. i liked it, maybe even really liked it, but i wasn't waxing rhapsodic as others have. the other person really, really liked it. the dish was really salty, which we were warned about. that is not to say it was too salty, but i did notice it. maybe some cracked pepper would have helped? i love anything with a runny egg yolk, so that was great. just for clarity, "shaved" tuna heart means that there are very small flecks of dark red tuna heart throughout the pasta. i had envisioned larger pieces, so i was surprised (but not in a bad way) to see the dish. it was very interesting and different and i liked it. would i rush back to order it again? no, but next time i'm at incanto, i would consider it. the remaining diner had the duck with papardelle. this was also very good, and i think that the pasta itself was better than the bucatini. it really tasted homemade. the diner said that while it was very good, it "still didn't taste like the handmade pasta in italy." (where can we get that in the bay area?!). we finished with the bay leaf panna cotta, which was absolutely fabulous. i WOULD go back in a second for that. as pane said, lots of specks of vanilla bean. despite being lactose intolerant, i couldn't help having several spoonfuls. we also each had the mystery wine flights. at $13 (?) for three mostly full glasses, what a deal! they were all good, and between the 9 glasses, there were only two wines that more than one person had. service was among the best i've ever experienced. a young caucasian woman with short brown hair, who was friendly, unobtrusive, and accommodating. she didn't bat an eye at my dietary difficulties and immediately volunteered to go investigate what options could be made without dairy products. they offered me all the pastas except the one featuring pecornio, and almost all the entrees too. such an inquiry is usually responded to with confusion or reluctance, but instead i had someone who was happy to check and happy to report. thanks also to the kitchen for being flexible! in all, an excellent meal. i have many more restaurants to try before i can return, but i'm sure i'll return at some point. $140 without tip. Thu Mar 20 13:46:56 -0700 2008 3511828 12336 artemis 2 3512516 The mystery flights usually range from $13 to 18. They're always a good value, although you can often do as well with several half glasses. Worth noting that a panna cotta is always on the menu, although the adornments vary. Once I had it with saba, another time with candied kumquat. Thu Mar 20 16:04:56 -0700 2008 3512050 10966 Windy