Decadent, rich and sumptuous are not exact synonyms for fat, but sensually they're a perfect match. It is an unwritten rule of restaurants that adding butter or cream makes any dish taste better. To wit: Two of the most eye-rollingly delicious items on the nouveau-rustic pizza joint Fresca Superior's menu, the duck confit pizza ($18) and the bacon ranch Philly salad ($7), are high in fat. But don't be afraid. Sit up and enjoy it. Take your fat like a man.

The fact is, fat isn't much to be afraid of. Carbohydrates and proteins have four calories per gram; fat, a hefty, silky nine. It's overeating that makes us fat, not food. Plus we need body fat, and again, don't ignore the taste thing. While butterfat is just inherently tasty, other kinds of fats have their own tastes and are vehicles for flavor, delivering good stuff to your tastebuds. It's science: A 2001 study released from Purdue University found that humans can taste fat, making it the sixth basic taste humans seek out, knowingly or otherwise.

Cut to chef Scott McLeod's duck confit pizza, a twist on the Navajo fry bread he first had in New Mexico.

"I thought it'd be cool to make a pizza out of it," he says. "I use creamy fontina cheese, duck — which is the fattiest meat you can have — and drizzle it with truffle oil. That's why it's so fucking good."

The Philly bacon ranch salad has McLeod's top-secret dressing, which contains mayonnaise, buttermilk, sour cream, vinegar and spices. And bacon. And it's so fucking good.

McLeod doesn't have an exact calorie count on his creations. "I try to get as close to the calorie count of a stick of butter as I can."

Sound flip? It's because McLeod, like any pro chef, hates, hates, hates diets that warn diners off certain items.

"If you're concerned about your fat intake, I'd say stop eating like a pig. Then you won't get fat. When I went to culinary school at the Academy of Cuisine, it was extremely French: Everything was butter, cream and came in four courses. We all thought we'd get fat, but we lost weight because they taught us how to eat normally and not gluttonize."

So take three friends and try the duck confit pizza. Two, if you're a pig.

Fresca Superior 2005 Walnut St., 215-557-0222. Duck confit pizza ($18) feeds four, two if you eat like an American Philly salad ($7)