Mario Maggi was born in Florence, but his culinary soul is rooted in Milan.

And that is a boon for San Francisco Italian food fans weary of the same old pasta.

Maggi's menu at the new Credo downtown swerves from Tuscany to Emilia-Romagna, stopping along the way at familiar signposts like panzanella and fettuccine Bolognese. Orecchia di elefante ($21) and risotto Milanese ($19), though, are comparative strangers to these parts.

The first is also known as costoletta alla Milanese, and is a menu staple in its namesake city. Maggi pounds a 14-ounce, bone-in pork chop, then coats it in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. He fries the enormous plank (orecchia di elefante means "elephant ear") in clarified butter and finishes it in the oven. The result is a crisp, buttery chop without the slightest trace of greasiness.

Risotto Milanese is the classic accompaniment to osso buco, the braised veal shank classic that Maggi offers as a special. But his risotto Milanese needs no fleshly assistance. His is suffused with the musky edge of saffron and fortified with the unconventional addition of asparagus. If you've always equated risotto with rice gruel, Maggi will explode your preconceptions.

Other Milanese dishes, including the pork and potato stew rustin negà, tripe carpaccio and white minestrone, appear occasionally. For now, though, we're plenty content with Maggi's genre-shattering pork chop and risotto.

Credo, 360 Pine St. (at Montgomery St.); 415-693-0360 or credosf.com