January 2019

SoLo Farm & Table – Londonderry, Vermont

Once we made our reservations for The Silver Fork, picking another restaurant that stood out in Manchester was not easy. I kept stumbling up SoLo Farm & Table and the exceptional praise it has received though it was in the middle of no where Londonderry. Fortunately, it was only a twenty minute drive from Manchester and we were able to snag a reservation. After this meal, it was clear that this was the reason this middle of no where area is a foodie destination worth traveling.

Dinner Saturday night was at SoLo Farm & Table situated down an unlit road in a large house- the stars in the sky we just amazing. The restaurant is family run with global inspiration that showcases a constantly changing menu reflecting the seasonal locally sourced ingredients. They are known for in-house butchery wasting no part of an animal and for their handmade fresh pasta dishes. Needless to say, we were very excited for this menu.

While they make use of every square foot of the house, don’t show up without a reservation. The place was packed and throughout our entire meal the tables did not slow down. Our seat was on the would-be patio of the home renovated with an enclosure and plenty of heat lamps.

Once again (theme of this trip), the menu was incredible- decision making skills were certainly tested on this trip! There was no item you could go wrong with.

The drink menu was extensive in wine, beer, and cocktail options. For drinks, I ordered a glass of the Arcan Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain 2016 and Kevin ordered Maine Beer Company Peeper Pale Ale.

Bread service was house made sourdough bread and homemade butter with sea salt. It was very hard to resist filling up on these- so so so good!

To start, we ordered the Crispy Spanish Octopus served with a cauliflower couscous, curried sultana puree, hot sauce, kaffir lime, herbs and pork chicharron. The hot sauce and puree were all around the other items so it we were able to split this dish.

We both love octopus in any form so it was great to have a version that truly showcased the octopus meat. And I think we could have ate an entire basket full of those pork chicharron! That tentacle piece was definitely my favorite part- it was nice a crispy.

I ordered the evening pasta special of homemade tagliatelle with butter, shaved parmesan cheese, and freshly winter black truffles.

My favorite thing about eating fresh pasta is how light and flavorful it is. Those characteristics are difficult to find otherwise. Pasta dishes can often times be very heavy and homemade pasta and fresh ingredients transform the dish. One reason why ITALY is such a happy place for our bellies. I loved everything about this dish- the simple, pure ingredients making such a flavorful combination.

Kevin ordered the Bucatini All’amatriciana with guanciale, tomato sauce, and chili.

This is one of his favorite pasta dishes which is why it won over other intriguing dishes on the menu such as pork belly ramen and farm raised pork, duck, rabbit, and lamb- all on the menu in nightly variations. The bucatini was home made and perfectly al dente. The chili in the sauce created a slow burn and was additive to the overall flavor, not overpowering the dish. To Kevin, this was one of his favorite interpretations of traditional amatriciana.

With our pasta dishes being this great, we were certainly disappointed to not have more stomach space to try all the other menu offerings.

We had to try at least one dessert  so we split the Caramelized Torija which is a brûlée spanish bread pudding. This also came with one homemade ice cream or sorbet and we (can you guess?) went with chocolate. Kevin also got coffee that came in a beautiful pot.

I do not think I can adequately describe home incredible this one scoop of ice cream was- creamy and decadent. I could have ate so much more than a single scoop (ok more like half a scoop since we split it with a knife to be fair!)  and I wish they sold these as pints… or gallons. I am sure the other flavors are equally as good. The dish itself was very tasty and exactly as described- creme brûlée meets bread pudding- nothing wrong with that combination.

As we left SoLo Farm & Table after a fantastic meal, we looked up at the hundreds of bright stars once more before heading back to Manchester for our final night. We were very impressed by what we ate and dying to know what the other menu items were like. There is no wrong choice here and it is very obvious they are deserving of the praise. Thank you for a great meal!

Read about the rest of the Manchester trip here!