Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
So off we went last Friday, a party of far-flung family 13 strong, to Incanto, Mark Pastore’s rustic Italian restaurant and wine bar in San Francisco’s Noe Valley. The occasion, the synchronous birthdays of both my aunt Jacqueline and cousin Peter. Executive chef Chris Cosentino, as the name of his personal Web site attests, is one of the most visible and articulate stateside champions of nose-to-tail eating–and this fall he may have lapped Fergus Henderson in popular recognition thanks to his almost-ran appearance on The Next Iron Chef. He may have been knocked out in the penultimate round, but based on the satiated looking crowd in the dining room, he’s not hurting much. Still, since I’ve never eaten at Lola, or Restaurant August, I can also say with confidence that he was totally robbed.
Locally raised in Manteca, in nearby San Joaquin County, and slow-roasted on site special for us, this was some pig. Tender, with a surprisingly delicate flavor, crispy skin wedded to a layer of firm, glistening fat. (It was even better the next day, when I had two pork sandwiches on toast for breakfast.) It was served with sides of braised Indian red carrots, sweet little roasted beets with fresh ricotta, and some devastating duck-fat stuffing in the face of which I could only groan.
