Even Artichokes Have Hearts

Earlier this week I went to dinner at Locanda, a restaurant that despite its high profile location (16^th and Valencia) I hadn't heard much about. It opened in April 2011 and is run by the same owners as Delfina. I knew I’d like it right off the bat since its logo is an artichoke. I had decided to go there for dinner after scanning 7X7’s list of “100 Things to Eat Before You Die” and the Jewish style artichokes at Locanda popped out to me. How does one make Jewish style artichokes? And why had I not heard of this before?

Turns out they’re fried, herb-seasoned and delicious. But let me start from the beginning. Walking into Locanda, it has the similar atmosphere of its neighbors in the Mission.  It was darker, primarily candlelit and had bar and open kitchen spanning the length of the restaurant. After assessing the menu, we settled on calling it an Italian Roman fusion. Pretty much every antipasti on the menu looked delicious so we went for a wide variety. On top of the Jewish style artichokes, which were an obvious must, we also went with the king salmon crudo, shaved artichoke salad, egg and asparagus, grilled pizza bianca and peas and shoots. Let’s start with the last. We ordered the peas and shoots as we’d heard the owner requires the wait staff to say one of his favorite jokes, “peas shoot, peas score” whenever serving the pea shoots. Sadly our server did not, but with the spring onion and straus yogurt mixed in, they were still the most flavorful pea side dish I've ever had. My least favorite starter (and let me caveat that this just means it was the least amazing) was the king salmon crudo. I liked that it was topped with salted capers and kept simple with a little xvoo. Unfortunately it lacked the acidity that really makes a crudo sing. The asparagus was not lacking in flavor, as it was topped with a poached egg, bottarga (cured fish roe) and burro nero (butter), finished off with crunchy breadcrumbs. Outside of the Jewish style artichoke, my favorite was the pizza Bianca, while was charred bread topped with an amazing amount of burrata, herbs and oil. It sounds so simple on paper but if you saw it in person you would understand. Even the basic bread brought for the table was anything but basic. It was fresh out of the grill, doused in olive oil and topped with sea salt.

But back to the artichokes. The shaved artichoke salad was mixed with arugula and avocado but what really brought it a step above other shaved salads I've had was the grilled ricotta. Usually when I have ricotta it’s in its softer form but this was the hard cheese. And grilling it added this great smoky flavor to the cheese. It turns out Jewish style artichokes (carciofi all giudia) are a delicacy from the olden Roman days. The artichokes are fried in oil with their leaves out-turned, making them look like sunflower. The whole, fried artichokes is seasoned with herbs, lemon, salt and pepper. They're crunchy, flavorful and another fun way to enjoy artichokes.

For my main dish I ordered the chicken, which could be perceived as boring, but it was wrapped in pancetta and stuffed with some form of herbs. It was some of the most perfectly cooked chicken I've ever had and the pancetta really held in the flavor and moistness. After checking out everyone else’s dishes, I’d also recommend the pork spareribs based off looks and that that person’s satisfaction level. I ducked out before dessert but was more than satisfied. I highly recommend this spot and plan to go back soon.