Incanto 2005.08.18 -- **

Incanto is tucked just far enough away from the bustle of Noe Valley that it feels like a neighborhood place. Yet the sweeping glass front and handsome wood appointments says all high-class. That, and the raving reviews I read, set me up with perhaps an unfairly high expectation. But no, I think its just not that great.

1. Padrones with Aioli. Small round sweet chili peppers, likely of mexican origin, fire-charred served with some aioli. Initial bite is sweet and a tad smoky, but the bitter mid to after taste soon overwhelms. The aioli is non-descript and does not pair well with either of the chili flavors. Now I'm not one to like any degree of bitterness, so perhaps that is the cinch. My friend sort of likes this.

2. Wild arugula salad with pecorino. The arugula is definitely different from regular store-bought flavors, me like. Could use a dressing with better support (don't remember what dressing it came with).

3. Small Pappardelle with milk braised tripe. Lamb tripe to be exact. It is a bit more "funny tasting" than cow tripe, but has essentially similar texture. It is very tender, but also a bit slimy which isn't too bothersome given the small potion (we ordered secondi size, second course size). I've never had lamb tripe so not sure if the slimy-ness is inherent with the organ or an effect of the braising. The flavoring of milk is actually quite harmonious with the feel of the tripe. Good contrast with the spinach-like vegie it is served with.

4. Braised Pork Shoulder. Good. But nothing overwhelming. I could make that.

5. Grilled Poussin on a bed of greek eggplant. Poussin is just a fancy word for young chicken, in my case young but not small. Half a chicken definitely would have made a more appropriate portioning. Mildly interesting spice rub on the bird itself, but the grilling is nothing worthy of note, not enough to bring out the dish even though I kind of liked the eggplants. Yah I know shocking, but these are not as mushy and tasteless as the typical eggplants.

6. Moscato D'Asti. 2004 Degiorgis. My friend and I both like dessert wines, so he introduced me to the d'asti version of my favorite wine, moscato. I'll take this over champagne any day! Sweet and light and refreshingly bubbly. Also good for the less-alcohol tolerant since it is often around the strength of beer.

7. Peach Torta. The downfall of the meal. This is a piece of off-site bought pie that they couldn't even bother to warm up properly nor provide some accoutrement to temporarily distract me from the shittiness of it. Without this piece I wouldn't have thought too badly about this meal.

This is categorized as a italian place. I feel its more californian than really italian. A few other details that bothered me: they introduced their water as "specially bottled from the Hetchy Hetchy Dam", which is a sly way of saying "tap water" (Hetchy Hetchy is a reservoir that serves the SF city water supply). Does a restaurant need to play trickery? Also they charge a mandatory 5% service charge, which they say goes to the untipped employees like dishwashers. That just means I end up giving them less tip on the final tab.

$43 with tx/tip