Cuisine:

• Italian
• Californian
• Lounge, club, bar
• Bar

Incanto Description:
Incanto's menu changes daily; it includes house-cured meats, regional pastas, fresh local seafood and a commitment to sustainably grown and harvested produce. A diverse Italian wine list.
One rich risotto ably introduces Incanto: stringy calf's brains, blood sausage and chicken thigh bits clinging to rice dusted brown with fragrant cinnamon. A fundamental food group in la cucina povera, offal may go by the name "nasty bits" but nothing grungy---or for that matter particularly humble---surfaces in Chris Costentino's luxurious, subtle preparations. The risotto starts off soothing and wholesome, tasting like the very best chicken soup, then, swooping in after the initial impression, the cinnamon lends a haunting, elevating bitterness. Despite his increasingly high profile, Cosentino is still in Incanto's kitchen, invariably sporting a garish orange cap, harnessing impeccable ingredients and drawing out deep, resonant and unconventional flavors. Pink, marrow-logged canoes of bone pair with parsley and Sardinian cured tuna, a clever variation on vitello tonnato. Underappreciated---not unlike offal---mackerel arrives soft and sweet, served with pickled chilies, potatoes and arugula---a little spicy but far from fishy. Remodeled, the restaurant's atmosphere has improved substantially. Unseen soundproofing blankets the interior; the carpet is gone in favor of wood floors; large photographs of produce hang on the walls. With Edward Ruiz's exclusively Italian wine program and a host of inventive dinners, including four-course "whole beast" events of lamb, suckling pig or baby goat, Incanto remains one of the city's most exciting neighborhood destinations.


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