Restaurant review: Villa-O in Dallas

by Chow Hound of McKinneyNews.net

The everybody-eats-free Mondays and family-night Sundays for $15.95 at Villa-O are ridiculous fiscal bargains.

Yeah, yeah. Chow Hound has heard it all before: Unicorns don’t exist, Santa Claus is nothing more than a mean hoax perpetuated by a morally bankrupt and bored collection of supposed “grown-ups,” brotherly love is in short supply, and finding the perfect restaurant is impossible.

Until last week, CH generally concurred -- minus, perhaps the unicorn bit -- with this sort of stare-reality-in-the-eye-and-don’t-blink “realist” sentiment.

But then a happy accident…

A (relatively) cool breeze. A 10-degree drop in temperature. An outdoor patio. An attentive staff. An amazing Mediterranean vibration. Stupendous food.

Chow Hound’s jaded delusions crashing…

Walking into Villa-O is like moving through some sort of weird time portal and arriving instantaneously in southern Italy. Never mind the cramped spaces associated with the Knox-Henderson area of Dallas, a several block confine in which untold numbers of restaurants compete for the discretionary dollars of nearby SMU students and Highland Park moguls.

Indeed, move through the fat blue and white stripes of Villa-O’s storefront awning and find yourself a seat in one of the larger fine-dining patio areas in Dallas, and somehow and in some mysterious way, your mind is gone, gone to a better place.

Perhaps it was the weather, the light breeze, the reprieve from insanity-provoking heat that had something to do with it. And granted, the experience wouldn’t have been nearly as endearing with sweat pouring off Chow Hound’s brow and trickling down the small of the Dog’s back, the standard physiologic response to an invisibly oppressive, humid heat that is typical this time of year.

Or maybe it was the “little things” (in conjunction with the weather), the white stucco exterior façade, the pinned back canvas patio drapes, the cobalt blue glassware – all these having some sort of molecular impact feel-good regions of CH’s brain.

Whatever the instigation, Chow Hound couldn’t help but feel as if he were dining somewhere besides the often disgusting, polluted bowels of Big D.

Chow Hound dropped by Villa-O on two occasions, once on free-for-all-Mondays (two-course meals are completely and totally free – yes, you read right), and once on “family day,” a weekly Sunday celebration of deliciousness that includes a three-course menu (kids under 15 eat for free) for $15.95 after 3 p.m.

The food on both days, let’s set it straight from the beginning, was ridiculously good. For the purposes of this review, CH will be discussing his Sunday afternoon visit.

The “family day” menu was comprised of two salad choices: (Caesar or chopped); four entrée choices: (lasagne Bolognese, organic breadless chicken parmesan); and either spaghetti with marinara or penne pasta with vodka tomato sauce and turkey meatballs; and two dessert choices: almond biscotti cheesecake or chocolate mousse cake.

So, CH ordered the lasagne, chicken parmesan, penne pasta with meatballs, and one menu selection, the $24 wild Alaskan salmon (the “regular” menu includes selections of sea bass, strip steak, shrimp, calamari, etc. – all either “wild” or “organic”).

The salads that arrived before the aforementioned main courses were perfectly delectable. CH won’t go into much detail, but all the required “Ts” were crossed, i.e., the salads were served on chilled plates and the ingredients, fresh.

After, oh, 15 minutes or so, the entrees arrived, carried by a server who would remain attentive, yet not overly intrusive.

At the risk of sounding obsequious, Chow Hound must state for the record that Villa-O – at least as represented by its entrees – is easily one of the best friggin’ restaurants the Dog has had the pleasure to visit.

For long-term readers, you all know the Dog has no reservations whatsoever in calling out bad food, service, etc. So hopefully, you all will appreciate the fact that CH could scarcely find a single problem with Villa-O in terms of atmosphere, presentation, wait staff attentiveness, cleanliness, and, of course, edibility.

The grilled wild salmon (served with organic veggies) was prepared perfectly, nicely charred, but not overdone. The penne pasta, with it’s ridiculously tender (to the point of crumbling upon pressure administered via Chow Hound’s fork – did they water bathe the balls???), was a delight. The chicken Parmesan, topped with gooey mozzarella and a fresh basil marinara -- and supported by a perfectly cooked (al dente) spaghetti – was, ho-hum, delicious. But the star attraction, CH’s modest opinion, was Villa-O’s lasagne Bolognese.

Stop!

For any of you (maybe) idiots out there who are under the impression that you’ve had lasagne, you know, the typical, “been-there-done-that” types, allow CH to burst your friggin’ bubble. Step back.

Villa-O’s lasagne is perhaps the best lasagne this Dog has ever allowed to slide down his esophagus. Really.

At this point you should be asking yourself: “What would make Chow Hound level such a potentially disastrous, all-or-nothing proclamation?”

Funny you should ask. First, lasagne Bolognese isn’t a quick and dirty kind of pasta. It takes time. To put it another way, it ain’t an adolescent, full of vim and vigor, dish. Lasagne Bolognese is far more mature, far more relaxed than that. It’s a dish that melts – the relaxed part – in one’s mouth. And ladies and gentlemen of the culinary jury, Villa-O’s Bolognese did just that.

Made with advertised “handcrafted” (no store bought) pasta, ricotta cheese, and Wagyu (from Japan) Bolognese (beef) sauce, Chow Hound can only say this: Run, don’t walk, to Villa-O if you want to experience the real deal – not some over-cooked pasta dish your mom (sorry), or sister (sorry), or wife (sorry) – with a can of Ragu (sorry), has whipped out from time to time.

You get Chow Hound’s point? Let’s hope so.

For dessert, CH cleverly ordered both the almond biscotti cheesecake and the chocolate mousse cake. Both -- sorry! – were ridiculously delicious.

The mousse cake featured an interesting melding of a relatively non-sweet, almond graham cracker crust acting as an anchor for the more sweet and aerated, creamy chocolate top. Nice. The almond biscotti (“cookie”) crusted cheesecake was equally decadent and delightful.

So, what does all the above information mean? It means that 1) Villa-O provides one heck of a nice patio aesthetic – at least when it’s relatively “decent” outside (Villa-O’s relatively austere/minimalist inside is nice, too), and 2) the everybody-eats-free Mondays and family-night Sundays for $15.95 are ridiculous fiscal bargains.

Throw in an attentive wait staff and, of course, perfectly prepared food, and you’ve got the makings of a perfect 5 Milk Bones out of 5.

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