Taste Maine RE-UP ME! Sunday Supper

If you missed it, Chef Paolo and Chef David Turin were featured together during Episode 1 ‘Summer Classics’ for the Taste Maine RE-UP ME Fundraiser. Paolo made his pillow-y gnocchi and David a blueberry butter and lobster sauce! Its a long video, but charming and worth the company if you ever wanted to cook together with two chefs (albeit online). There are 10 episodes, so continue and take the cooking all the way through the fall season. And certainly donate to the fund if you have the ability.

What is Fritto Misto? La Cucina Italiana knows...

Right before we reopened, June of 2020, La Cucina Italian reached out to inquire about Paolo’s take on a Fritto Misto. The timing is incredibly serendipitous, as we are/had been in the process of waiting on a new pizza oven that would also allow spacing for a second fryer. The second fryer allows us to now fry fish! With only one, we never had that ability because of shellfish allergy concerns.

We can add a bit of context to the brief picture and shoutout in the article below. Our Chef, Paolo Laboa, is from Genova in the province of Liguria. Genova is a port town that feels very similar to his current home in Portland, Maine because of the focus on fresh, local seafood. For him, the history of fritto misto is in Genova. The arched area near the Porta Antica where fritto misto is allegedly comes from is called Sottoripa. Its fryer shops are called sciammadde and date all the way back 1,000 years! The Genovese have been frying fresh fish that come in daily from the sea since then, the time of the Republica Marinare (Sailor's Republic). Now, it is omnipresent and known simply as Genovese Street Food.

RAI Italia Feature!

Early in 2020, Stefano Salimbeni, of RAI Italia, stopped by the restaurant to discuss the origins of Paolo’s cucina, the intricacies of Solo’s operations and why Paolo chose Maine as his new home. It is in Italian, but you can set CC to play in English in the video settings—perhaps a perfect opportunity to practice your Italian!

Decor Maine's "Perfect Pairing"

Recently, our friend Kathryn Renna reached out about a story that featured both of Solo’s owners and inspirations. The query had to do with a dish that both wasn’t mandilli al pesto AND unpacked the connection to Italian cooking between Paolo and Mercedes. The result is a story that begins and ends with memory (and its natural imperfection) but also corzetti (and its simple elegance).

Paolo on 207! (Ch. 6)

We recently paid a trip to 207’s studio (O’Maine) to share with Peg Keyser some tricks of a Ligurian Chef for using up that late season garden bounty! There are three separate segments, linked below, that feature both the 5 minute clip and the corresponding recipe. Corral some friends and make yourself a feast. Practice and humility are necessary, while wine is semi-optional :) Buona Fortuna!

Ciao Italia! (with Mary Ann Esposito)

Last June, Mary Ann paid a visit to Paolo’s kitchen and filmed an episode (#12 of season 28). That season is now being aired on PBS and/or The World Channel. It has been difficult to get an exact air date, though it seems set for sometime in December. In any case, we DO have access to a few clips from the show! Follow the link below to a set of those clips from Episode 12. While you are at it, perhaps you may even want to have a go at recreating that Torta di Bietole, a staff favorite.

Conde Nast Traveler: 15 Best Restaurants in Portland, Maine

A wonderful writeup by our friends of friends over at Conde Nast, not only with a shout out to us but also to the rising, eclectic Portland food scene. Don’t forget to click through to our very own CN Traveler profile!

ZEST Magazine: The ART of COOKING with AWARD-WINNING GENOVESE CHEF

Zest’s Winter 2019 issue features a wonderful expose on our Chef-owner Paolo Laboa and his soulful attention to delicious, yet intentionally simple, Northern Italian cooking. In the interview, he discusses the key of braising your food (like octopus), expanding your horizons (emphasis on Stock Fish) and, of course, that award-winning basil pesto.

Photo credit: Benjamin Clay

Rolling Corzetti with Paolo

Jim Keithley of Channel 8 learns about a Ligurian favorite, Corzetti, and the nuanced steps to making the style of Pasta from Paolo himself. You can watch the full video here, but you can also join one of our pasta-making classes that are featured in the shop on our site. We run them January through June, once per month on the final Tuesday.

The King of Pesto!

Recently, Meredith Goad, of the Portland Press Herald, stopped in to learn more about Paolo's secret pesto ways, uncover its personal history for him and even make some with him! Read the full article here, and even try to make some for yourself with its recipe! Paolo is always open to sharing his culinary ways because he wants everyone to be a part of spreading the appreciation for beautifully clean food that sings. 

Credit: Photos by Portland Press Herald Staff Brianna Soukup

"Prized pesto" ~ La Cucina Italiana

This article was written by Mindy Fox for La Cucina Italiana while Paolo was still working at Farina in San Francisco. Since then Mindy has become a close friend and Maine resident. We are honored to continue such a relationship and bring Paolo's soulful expression to light anew in Portland, where he has found a new home. Stay tuned for the coming article in the Press Herald about the "pesto king in our midst." Also, give the pesto a shot! It is a humbling, but rewarding, experience. 

Appreciating Maine-grown Mushrooms!

You would be hard-pressed to come into Solo at any point throughout the year and not find mushrooms somewhere on our menu. One of the driving forces behind the diversity of our fungal offerings (not to mention varieties of seaweed and wild berries) is Northspore, based here in Maine. This special report gets behind the scenes at Solo with Paolo, WCSH Channel 6, and details the magic of cultivating mushrooms in Maine. (Fun fact: anyone can do it!)