Incanto and the Leg of Beast

It's been a while. I really need to get better about updating this food blog of mine.

Ok, so the long awaited post (at least for me) about dining at Incanto with 10 very special people, and with 1 very special piece of meat.

Reservations were at 7:30 on a Friday night. Incanto is in SF's Noe Valley- a very cute and neighborly neighborhood. Incanto itself has a very inviting atmosphere. The wooden tables, warm smells, friendly staff, and warm lighting all contributed to its homey ambiance.

The Leg of Beast is a prix fixe menu so the waitress sat us down and explainedhe different courses to us, and, almost as importantly as the leg of beast, she asked us which dessert we wanted to eat.

To start off the meal, we ordered a bunch of appetizers. For those of you that aren't familiar with Incanto, it is a unique restaurant that specializes in cooking all parts of the animal- nothing goes to waste. And to add to this unique meal, we decided to go a little crazy and ordered a few other things off the menu.

The fried pork skin was pretty good. Very crispy, had a meaty yet light flavor to it. I like to think of it as the "pork chip".

The fish cheeks were pretty good as well. Not my favorite, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy it. The best part of the dish for me was the flavor of the tomato broth. The texture of the fish cheeks was like chewable styrofoam and bubble wrap mixed with jellyfish.

Then came the blood parpadelle. One of my favorites! Rich, al dente, smooth, and creamy. I've had pork blood before so I know what blood tastes like- and the taste can be very overpowering. However, when incorporated with pasta, it really is quite delightful and the bloody taste is a bit muddled. Not to mention- the deep red velvet hue was really beautiful.

And then the real meal finally started. The salad was huge. It was the only part of the meal with no meat! And the charcuterie plate was amazing. So many different cuts of meat, including the head cheese and pate. The roasted garlic cloves were very tender, moist, and buttery.

They served the marrow of the leg first. This was probably my favorite part of the meal. Marrow is really God's butter. So creamy, melts in your mouth, rich and oily goodness.

And then came...the LEG that we'd all been waiting for. This leg of beef that Incanto serves is marinated over the course of 3 days. It must be ordered at least 1 week in advance due to the preparation involved. I'm not sure what they use to marinate it, but it definitely fell right off the bone when they served it to us. They really preserve the taste of the beef and they don't marinate it with too many other flavors. Not so much of a "wow" factor that way, but I like that they really want you to taste just the beef on its own.

The chef is friends with Josef so he came out and told us how they have to be extra careful when moving it from roast to plate. He said about 3 people have to move it so the meat doesn't fall off the bone before it is presented.

Above is Todd cutting the leg for us. And this dude with the face is Adnan, eating the bone of the leg of beast.

And then onto dessert: panna cotta and chocolate bread pudding. Delicious. The best panna cotta I've ever had.

And we also decided to order some other desserts- such as their "cheese" plate, which is bleu cheese ice cream and a fig tart.

The gang with Incanto's chef, Chris: Me, Jeff, Josef, Adnan, Elaine, Leann, Todd, Sarah, Greg, and Adnan

After two bottles of wine and Muscat to close the meal, my Incanto goal is now complete. What a great evening with my dear friends. Thanks for coming to eat leg of beast with me!