Locanda--San Francisco (Italian cuisine)

In the restaurant repertoire of the people who gave us Delfina in 1998, there is also Locanda Osteria and Bar. Located in the Mission at 557 Valencia Street, this restaurant is only a couple blocks from the 16th Street bart station. With a Roman-influenced menu, the food at Locanda is both comforting, with house-made pastas as well as modern with many renditions of pork and a nice selection of cocktails.

The space is small and very loud on a friday night, but once the food hits your lips, everything around you seems to quite down.

Here are some of the things I've enjoyed.

http://www.locandasf.com/


Gomorrah. Made with scotch, nardini, cocchi americano and bitters. This was a very well balanced, lightly peaty pre-dinner beverage.

Old Fashioned Flight. From left to right: A rye and demerara, bourbon and maple syrup and scotch and honey. Each had their own smokey to peaty characteristics, the sugar balanced out the heat of each spirit and the lemon oil gave them all a very nice fragrance.

Pizzetta. Nicely toasted, oiled and sprinkled with a dash of sea salt. These were perfect for sopping up sauces.

Lamb Carpaccio. Ridiculously buttery and tender thin sheets of lamb. Served very simply with a drizzle of olive oil, capers, pecorino and fresh cracked pepper, this was four bites of meaty goodness.

Rigatoni alla Carbonara. Made with house-cured guanciale, Tully Dolci egg, pecorino and black pepper. The pasta was very al dente, but the sauce with the guanciale were perfect bits of creamy salty goodness.

Pancetta-wrapped Guinea Hen. This was a dish stacked with flavor and succulence. The bottom was a pan sauce that I wished I had a cup of just to drink, then the creamy and buttery white polenta  went on top. On top of that was the pancetta-wrapped hen, which was perfectly cooked with herbs and spices. The charred young turnips were also a nice touch. Every morsel on this plate was fantastic.

Flourless Chocolate Torta. A very light cake that was mildly sweet. The different textures on this plate kept each bite interesting with the softness of the cake, the creaminess of the topping, the tart pops of pomegranate and the crunchy toasted white chocolate panna. The persimmon puree was also a nice touch.

After tasting the food at Locanda and learning that the chef lived in Rome for a couple of months to hone his skills, I want to return over and over again to taste the ever-changing menu of mouth-watering delights.