The majority of my San Francisco trip was sadly spent working, but I managed to find some time to enjoy two great dinners while in the city.
On Monday, I visited Porcellino, Chef Chris Kosentino’s new counter-service restaurant in Noe Valley. Chris’s former restaurant at the same location, Incanto, had the noted distinction of serving the best dish I’ve ever had – calf brains with porcini mushrooms and bone marrow jus.
So I was a bit surprised to find that Porcellino, far from celebrating offal in the same way that Incanto did, was just a fairly run of the mill Italian restaurant.
I tried the heirloom tomato panzanella and the rigatoni with pork ragu and seared duck egg. Both were tasty and flavorful, and at any other restaurant, I would have been very pleased. But given my past love of Incanto, I have to say I was a bit let down.
The next evening, my colleagues took me to Amelie, which describes itself as a “French tapas wine bar” After trying their “JT flight” which featured a fantastic white – the 2011 Maison Nicolas Perrin Syrah/Viognier – we feasted on their excellent charcuterie plate, burrata with toast, and heirloom tomato and watermelon salad. We finished the night with some private room karaoke at Yamasho, which held no culinary delights, but plenty of bad 90s pop karaoke.
All in all, a delicious trip and a good chance to see some friends and colleagues from the Left coast.
