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| - Family owned Italian in the Esplanade/Biltmore area?? Figured it would be some chain or over-hyped, fancy, shmany place that had 'alright' Italian food, boy was I wrong! My friend Eric brought me to this spot and I arrived a bit early, which gave me plenty of time to explore the menu. When I saw chitarra pasta on the menu I knew they must make their own noodles in house, which lead to quite a quandary as to what to eat. So, I waited and drank wine to help figure things out. Eric arrived and we decided we needed assistance to narrow down all the choices on the menu. The server and bartender were very helpful in getting us in the right direction and we ordered the Meat and Cheese Board with 3 types of cheese and their Copa...yum! It came with dried fruits and various jams and a few crostinis. Quite a large board for the price with great ingredients. This was perfect for me because I wanted to save room for dessert.
We split the main entree (Bolognese)...holy amazing sauce!!! This dish was DELICIOUS!! Again I should note you can tell the noodles are made in house, YUMyum! We got an order of meatballs on the side to go with it, which you really don't need because the Bolognese is quite large. The meat balls are spectacular with perfect texture and density and the perfect size to eat them for a meal at lunch; it also comes with their amazing house marinara sauce.
Last but not least was the dessert. The original plan was to get one dessert and then for checking-in I received a free dessert!! So, why not get TWO?? :)
We ordered the special for that evening: A crepe with lemon filling and a milk chocolate drizzle over the top!!! I love lemon and chocolate, not a fan of crepes...but I am now! We also ordered the chocolate lava cake. Again perfect! The dessert was surprisingly light but decadent. Great flavors and texture, but not overly rich! I think the pictures speak for themselves; I had to take a picture of the desserts because they looked so delectable.
The question is not will I come back, it is how soon can I get back to Solo Trattoria?! The servers educated us very well on the menu; there are so many things I still want to try: carpaccio, pizza, mussels, and all the veal dishes. Also I should say they change the menu seasonally and the prices are very reasonable; I was expecting much higher considering the area. This restaurant also supports local growers and has gluten free options. Solo is officially my new favorite Italian restaurant in the valley!
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