Incanto

I celebrated my 30th here with the whole pig and Incanto did not disappoint -- the food was amazing, the service attentive and the staff really made the evening memorable for us. I arrived a little early before the 6:30 reservation to look over the wine list. The list is extensive with spirits from the different regions of Italy. For 17 of us, we got 3 bottles of prosecco, 2 bottles of white, 2 bottles of red and a bottle of sparkling red. The recommendations from the sommelier were spot on and the wine really lubricated the night.

To start, we got two heaping platters dripping with meaty goodness. The mixed boccalone antipasto platter consisted of sliced ham, mortadella, salumi, headcheese and a pate; also on the plate were braised petite onions, pickles and an entire baked garlic. My favorite of the night was the headcheese, but everything were wonderful. The meats were flavorful but not overpowering nor overtly salty and they all melted in your mouth. The bread basket was also a huge hit. The focaccia was out of this world good. It was way better than any bread that I had while in Italy. A good start to the evening!

M-E-A-T!! Meat meat meat!!

Next up were the salads. We have two options -- the escarole and the radicchio. Me and the boyfriend went halfies so we get to try both choices. The escarole was crisp and refreshing, but I thought it needed something else (maybe cheese?) to punch it up a bit. I liked the radicchio salad better, especially with the sweetness of the grapes and the bitterness of the purple cabbage. It was a good thing that the salads were light because we certainly didn't want to overload our appetites until Miss Piggy made her appearance.

Radicchio salad

Escarole salad

The side dishes arrived at the table first. The piping hot roasted whole tomatoes and Sicilian eggplant were so fragrant and promised delights yet to come. The tomatoes were topped with "puffed quinoa", which is a treatment of quinoa that I've never experienced before. They were crispy, yet still maintained the grassy flavor of the grain. The eggplant was my favorite of the night, even more so than the pig! The capers and mint took the tender eggplant to a whole new level. I'm still smacking my lips just thinking about it.

Roasted tomatoes

Sicilian eggplants

There were rampant speculation from our table regarding the size of the roast pig. The guesses ranged from a small suckling pig to a hundred pound behemoth. Reality was somewhere in the middle. The pig arrived steaming hot on a large board carried by two servers. She didn't have an apple in her mouth, but the snout was covered with gold leaf. After I hopped over the table to have my seven minutes of heaven with the laying-in-wait swine, it was time to carve her open the distribute the goodness. 

Ain't she a beaut?

The pig was brined and then roasted for 7 hours. The skin wasn't as crispy as I imagined, but rather leathery. Although I think the skin did crisp up after the pig cooled, especially the thinner cuts. The meat was simply treated and tender. We did get the dripping served in little dishes to pour over the meat, but it didn't pack a punch like a gravy. I thought the meat needed a little more flavoring, but I could understand that the chef didn't want to mask the taste of the meat too much. The pig was stuffed with that delicious focaccia bread and caramelized onions and our server plated that for us too. We were only able to eat around half the pig. It was surprising hot much meat it yielded.

After enough "head" jokes to satisfy a convention full of horny, pimply fifteen year old boys, the staff took the pig back to the kitchen to curve us the head meat. Now, that was the best part of the pig. The headcheese simply melted in your mouth. Maybe it was because there's more fat in the face area of the pig, the meat was more flavorful and tender. We also got the brain, eyes, ears and tongue. The more adventurous of us took a stab at at least one of the delicacies. We all survived and lived to tell about it! It was almost comical to watch the faces of someone trying out this stuff for the first time. First fear/anticipation fly cross their faces, then the tentative chewing (you can see the eyes look upward to fully discern what they're tasting) and finally, a big smile!

Enough goodies to satisfy a nose, ear and throat doctor

Lasty, it was dessert time. The two options were the fig leaf panna cotta and a chocolate espresso pudding. I loved both options, but favor the panna cotta more because it was lighter. Even after all that pork, everyone licked their dessert plates.

Fig leaf panna cotta

Chocolate espresso pudding

I loved my experience at Incanto. Now I can cross the whole pig off of my bucket list. The servers are accommodating and fun. It ain't cheap, but if you can scrape together enough foodie friends, it's an adventure well worth the price.