Villa Rosa – A loving taste of Italy

Anytime you walk into a restaurant and you are met with a 100.5 sanitation grade, you know it’s going to be a decent meal. When you are seated at your table by the woman the restaurant is owned by and named after, you know you’re going to be enjoying a meal prepared with love. When you arrive at the same restaurant that your husband proposed to you in the parking lot of, you know you’re going to be enjoying a meal WITH your love.

We asked to sit in a quiet place, as we were celebrating our wedding anniversary, and Rosa, with a kind smile and sweet voice, sat us in a secluded area just as we had hoped. First out was our server, Abraham. Wonderful name, wonderful server, for the record. He later brought us our drinks and that glorious bread I crave from time to time. See, we hadn’t been back to Villa Rosa in a while, and their bread is my favorite part.

When Abraham brought the bread out, I made sure to ask him if the bread was made in-house. He said that it was, and that made me smile. The reason I asked this is I had read on Urbanspoon by one reviewer that the bread was just hotdog buns with garlic brushed on it. Yeah….not so much. The bread is a bit smaller than a large hoagie roll, soft and fluffy, appears to be brushed with a homemade pesto and olive oil. There’s something completely delicious and magical about this bread…and the more pesto on it, the better in my opinion. *smiles*

We thought about ordering an appetizer, but we knew dessert was looming nearby, and you can’t beat their Tiramisu. So, we ordered our entrees, and Abraham brought them out a little bit later. The website suggests that you allow them time to cook the meal, as it is prepared fresh for each dish. In other words…you can’t rush greatness.

The hub ended up with the Shrimp and Scallop Marinara, and I had the Shrimp Scarpariello. Both were equally amazing. The Marinara’s description on the menu is “Shrimp and scallops sautéed in olive oil, garlic, herbs and marinara sauce, served over capellini”. Mine isn’t on the online menu, but mine had Shrimp, mushrooms, garlic, herbs, jalapenos, in a lemon sauce, topped with Feta Cheese and served over penne.

A little backstory: The night he proposed, almost 7 years ago, we had Tiramisu and their credit card machine went down. So we sat for 30 minutes over our Tiramisu and I just kept waiting for him to pop the question (You know us girls always have an idea of what’s going to happen). He sat there nervously, we finished our Tiramisu, paid, walked out to the car and he proposed beside the car. We still can’t agree on which car we were in, but I still think we were driving the Volkswagen. He opened the door, I sat down in the car, and when I looked back, there he was on one knee with the perfect ring glaring back at me.

To end our evening dinner this anniversary, we enjoyed our Tiramisu, and headed back out to the car. I had hoped for a reenactment of the proposal, but he declined my request. Damn. *smiles*

It’s not just the memories that I have attached to Villa Rosa that make this such a wonderful place, it’s more than that. It’s the love you feel when you walk in the door. The rustic ambiance of the décor. It’s the freshness of the meals, and the love each one is prepared with.

Next time you’re looking for a good loving Italian restaurant, check out Villa Rosa. You’ll leave with a smile on your face.

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