Linda and Mike L. Mc Colgan's culinary journey recently took them to their home town of Danville and Incontro Ristorante. With a goal to hit all 3000 San Francisco restaurants and having been to 500 plus, Incontro is like eating in an upscale San Francisco restaurant without having to Bart or drive there. Like the North Star "InContro Ristorante" shines brightly on the main street of downtown Danville. The warm ambience is immediately felt as you walk by the outdoor fireplace and patio tables of the professional lit building that sparkles brightly.
An elegant bar serves happy hour prices from 4:30 to 6:00 Monday thru Friday. It has a friendly feeling and puts you in the mood for a cocktail or 2 to start your dinner. There are also private dining rooms for your special occasion or you can rent the whole restaurant for groups of 150 or more. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Sundays families with children under 12 eat free.
From the web site "Incontro /inˈkon-tro/ n meeting, encounter; a fine dining experience in the East Bay. Incontro Ristorante, the inspiration for the name came from our desire to create a central meeting place for the diverse cuisines from all the regions of Italy and our passion to introduce these foods from the old country to our new home here in the East Bay."
Outgoing General Manager Jenny makes everyone feel at home and welcomes each guest with a friendly smile of appreciation. There is an extensive and reasonably priced Italian wine selection or if you bring your own a corkage fee of 20 dollars. We started off our meal with 2 of the patron favorites.
Arancini alla Siciliana Deep Fried Breaded Arborio Rice Balls stuffed with Thyme, Parsley, and Smoked Mozzarella
served with Marinara Sauce and Basil Pesto
served with Marinara Sauce and Basil Pesto
Prosciutto e Mozzarella Imported Parma Prosciutto & Buffalo Mozzarella
served with Marinated Roasted Peppers & Arugula Salad
served with Marinated Roasted Peppers & Arugula Salad
Both were very good. My favorite was the Rice balls while Linda enjoyed the Prosciutto.
For the entree Linda ordered the spinach salad with grilled shrimp that was presented like a picture from a foodie magazine and tasted even better than it looked.
I ordered the pre-fixe dinner menu with a percentage of the proceeds going to benefit the food bank of Contra Costa and Solano counties. For $25.00 you had a choice of soup or salad, 3 different entrees and desserts. I had the lentil soup that was very soothing on a cool Danville evening and Spaghetti con Salsiccia e Rapini (spaghetti pasta with calabrese sausage, broccoli rabe and mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce) that was very light and tasty. For desert, I chose the chocolate gelato that was just as good as we recently had on a trip to Italy.
In our extensive restaurant experience, the bottom line that we ask each other is "would you go back again?" This is a place that we will return.
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