Incanto, 8/2/2007
We had high expectations at Incanto. We had read and heard fabulous things. Just looking at the menu, I felt so excited that this restaurant would be Tier One. Alas, it was not, and it is in Tier Two.
Things began well with a great selection of bread and an amazing tapenade. We started with a melon and tomato salad seasoned with a delicious vanilla salt. The melon was excellent, but the tomatoes were not quite ready yet. Heather and I also shared the salumi platter, which had a divine mortadella and salami, but there was something made of trotter and the coppa di testa which were too fatty-gluey for our taste. The pate was also quite good, but I was getting full and needed to save room for the pastas.
We had heard about the amazing pastas but we were disappointed. We got the handkerchief pasta with pork ragu, and this was delicious. The pasta was delicate and the sauce went with it really well. The pappardelle with rabbit sugo and carrots was quite good if you got the right mouthful, but some of the chunks of rabbit were slightly dry. The spaghettini with tuna heart and egg was overly salty and despite the exotic organ, not that exciting.
We were so full at that point, that none of us were really able to appreciate our entrees. Which was too bad in Heather and my case because we ordered the braised pork shoulder with eggplant and tomato and it was divine. Melt in your mouth shreds of pork, but we only had room for two bites. Ethan's entree of albacore with avocado was passable except that instead of slices or chunks of avocado, the dish came really with an avocado sauce. If it's a sauce, the menu should say it's a sauce!
We wished we had room for dessert, to try the legendary panna cotta, but we will go back for that. Unfortunately, we're not sure we would go back for an entire dinner. The pork shoulder and mortadella were not enough to keep this restaurant in Tier One. The disappointment of the pastas and the misleading avocado label put it in Tier Two.
Things began well with a great selection of bread and an amazing tapenade. We started with a melon and tomato salad seasoned with a delicious vanilla salt. The melon was excellent, but the tomatoes were not quite ready yet. Heather and I also shared the salumi platter, which had a divine mortadella and salami, but there was something made of trotter and the coppa di testa which were too fatty-gluey for our taste. The pate was also quite good, but I was getting full and needed to save room for the pastas.
We had heard about the amazing pastas but we were disappointed. We got the handkerchief pasta with pork ragu, and this was delicious. The pasta was delicate and the sauce went with it really well. The pappardelle with rabbit sugo and carrots was quite good if you got the right mouthful, but some of the chunks of rabbit were slightly dry. The spaghettini with tuna heart and egg was overly salty and despite the exotic organ, not that exciting.
We were so full at that point, that none of us were really able to appreciate our entrees. Which was too bad in Heather and my case because we ordered the braised pork shoulder with eggplant and tomato and it was divine. Melt in your mouth shreds of pork, but we only had room for two bites. Ethan's entree of albacore with avocado was passable except that instead of slices or chunks of avocado, the dish came really with an avocado sauce. If it's a sauce, the menu should say it's a sauce!
We wished we had room for dessert, to try the legendary panna cotta, but we will go back for that. Unfortunately, we're not sure we would go back for an entire dinner. The pork shoulder and mortadella were not enough to keep this restaurant in Tier One. The disappointment of the pastas and the misleading avocado label put it in Tier Two.
posted by Candace at 11:09 AM
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