#AtoZChallenge | S is for Solo Italiano and Maine Restaurant Week

While cold temperatures may encourage you to stay in and hunker down, there are some enticing winter incentives in Maine to get you to venture outside. One of my favorites is Maine Restaurant Week which takes place at the beginning of March each year. Maine Restaurant Week is a week-long series of food related events throughout the greater Portland area.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day so what better way to start this food celebration than with a breakfast cook-off. Chefs put forth their most creative breakfast dishes in a friendly competition. I blogged about our visit to the cook-off a few years ago in my post Incredible Breakfast Cook-Off 2016. It was a wonderful event. I highly recommend it.

Last year we attended Spirit Quest, a self-guided walking tour through Portland, where local restaurants compete in a cocktail and small bites pairing competition. It was another delicious experience and a great way to visit many of the local Portland area restaurants.

While the special events are all worth checking out, if you’re looking for something more intimate, many area restaurants offer special Maine Restaurant Week menus. Each year we use the opportunity to try out a new to us restaurant. This year I was excited to dine at Solo Italiano. They were my favorite spot last year during Spirit Quest and I was excited to head back and check out their restaurant week menu.

The prix fixe menu started with a sage focaccia bread topped with prosciutto legato and burrata. I adore prosciutto and the combination was delicious. The salad course included organic farm greens with shaved pecorino with rosemary garlic olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.  While I’m not a salad girl, I had no problem finishing this one.

The pasta course of homemade maccheroncelli pasta was served in a rich pesto sauce. The pasta was followed by a fish course of pan-roasted monkfish in a light tomato and wine sauce with celery root and parsnips. The final course was a traditional Italian dessert of tiramisu. It was the perfect ending to a delicious meal.

Every course was amazing and the portions while filling were not overwhelming. We were lucky to get a table as we didn’t make reservations ahead of time and they generally are booked. Fortunately, a timely cancellation led to an opening at a table in the front by windows overlooking commercial street. So, not only did we have an amazing meal, but we also got to enjoy the view too.

Do you like trying new restaurants?

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I’m participating in a Blogging A-Z Challenge for April 2018. I will be posting new content every day this month except most Sundays. Each post is associated with a letter of the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z. My theme for the challenge is Winters in Maine. To read more of my A to Z posts, click HERE.

things to know
Place Solo Italiano
Address 100 Commercial St, Portland, ME 04101
Winter Scene Maine Restaurant Week
Website Solo Italiano Restaurant
Favorite ♥ Delicious Food

WIM Signature

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24 thoughts on “#AtoZChallenge | S is for Solo Italiano and Maine Restaurant Week”

  4. Sarah Ferguson and Choppy says:
    Reply

    I had a goal to visit 6 new-to-me restaurants this year…and I’m at something like 20 new restaurants this year (with another added yesterday). Funny enough, I didn’t think I went to a lot of new ones, especially because we only eat out a couple nights a week, but apparently, I’m practically a restaurant critic.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. The Widow Badass says:
    Reply

    I was in Portland a few years ago for a work meeting. Loved the area, although I didn’t get to see a lot of it. Our hosts told us of the great restaurant scene there. I’d love to go back to Maine someday and spend more time really getting to know the state, including Portland.

    Deb

    Liked by 1 person

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