Indaco

Ciao, friends! Indaco graced Upper King Street with its quickly known presence in August 2013. It’s a part of the Indigo Road Restaurant Group : Oak, O-Ku, Cocktail Club and Macintosh- talk about a dream team. Through the direction of their Exec Chef, Michael Perez, Indaco has held its own in this restaurant group, serving up wood-fired pizzas, homemade pastas and main entrees of seafood and meats. Think modern space with traditional Italian cuisine.

Will and I went to Indaco when it first opened and enjoyed our meal, but didn’t leave with the feeling that we needed to make a trip back as soon as possible.

It had been about a year, and we were both craving Italian. We decided to take a trip back. We thought that after recently being in Italy, it would give us a different perspective on the food and experience.

There is an option to do a family-style menu, which I would definitely like to try out in the future. The prices are on-par with other restaurants in the area.

We started out with an Aperitif which took us right back to Italy. Indaco's version tasted the same as the sweet pre-dinner drink we last had in Venice- with Aperol versus Campari.

Next, we ordered a bottle of wine and an antipasti- braised duck, honey nut squash, sunchoke, polenta, whey, parmesan and chives. It was savory and delicious. Will and I shared it and it was a good size for an antipasti. But because it was so good, we were both wanting more. 

The fall weather begins the start of what I call our "red wine season". Colder weather has me craving red wine and we go through the most wine during the cold months.

This bottle came from the region of Tuscany

For our entrees, we both ordered pasta dishes (unsurprisingly). I ordered the deconstructed carbonara, or the black pepper tagliatelle. This included house-made black pepper tagliatelle, pork tesa (standing in for the traditional pancetta), egg yolk, chives and of course pecorino romano. What would Italian be without cheese!? 

This take on carbonara speaks volumes about the authenticity and culinary creativity of this restaurant. The dish took me straight back to Italy....but with a twist. You could taste the pepper so distinctly in the tagliatelle. The pasta was cooked perfectly- it was strong enough to keep its form against the thickness of the egg yolk once broken and mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. It was perfectly seasoned, just salty enough without being overpowering leaving me thirsty. It was the perfect amount of food to leave me satisfied. You have to order this when you go to Indaco!

Will ordered the agnolotti, which was filled with milk braised pork, shiitake mushroom, pork emulsion, pickled red onion, fonduta and parmesan. He enjoyed the dish and found it the be a generous portion that left him feeling full. I tried a bite and again, it was seasoned perfectly. The agnolotti was delicious, but he would probably not order it again.



Lastly, dessert! I don't normally order dessert at restaurants because I would rather eat more on the front end, but I had been hearing so much about the budino I had to order it. Ok, lets be honest- I was on a mission from the start to get this dessert!

Holy Moly this dessert. This is a bold statement, but I think its my most favorite dessert I've ever had. It was perfect. Y'all, I'm not exaggerating. The toasted almond custard was the perfect thickness and consistency. The salted caramel held the strongest presence of the dish, both salty and sweet. The chocolate shortbread offered a more bitter than sweet crunch followed by the smooth sweet cream, which possessed just a hint of sweetness. It was perfectly balanced and I could have ordered ten of them. Of course, I pretty much ate the whole budino, and Will had a cappuccino. 

This trip to Indaco, Will and I left with an urge to return much sooner than a year! I would urge you to go soon, especially now that its getting colder outside. The cooler weather always has me craving Italian- Arrivederci!