Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 14, 2012

9

GOOD FOOD & DRINK

 Mountain Views News Saturday, April 14, 2012 

VILLA SORRISO

 Hey Friends, I am in Sonoma covering the Sonoma International Film Festival. Here is a 
recent article that still will get your taste buds tempted.

 Ensconced on the outskirts of Old Town Pasadena, a magnificent experiment is being 
orchestrated. Conducted with equal parts theater and fine dining, Villa Sorriso is successfully 
doing what so many others have experienced as drinking a cup of hemlock. For here is a 
restaurant provocatively practicing the art of elegant cuisine, while doubling as a dance club 
among the caverns of the night. It’s like being a teenage star that time wishes to force from 
the stage. If you close your eyes, you might summon the memory of a restaurant that used 
to be on the corner of Pasadena and Colorado which also professed to be a kingdom filled 
with the charms of food and dance, Clearwater Café, but as so many others of that type, they 
danced their way into the darkness of the night. 

 Jack Wong burst on the Pasadena restaurant scene with the Wok N’ Roll Sushi, on the 
north side of Colorado. It was instantly trendy, exciting, risk-taking and rewarding, exposing 
the palate, eyes and mind to an aesthetic and culinary adventure. That same formula has 
added some muscle and donned an Italian sign, Villa Sorriso. Just as the crowds that come 
here, I too have fallen under the night spell as their club emerges as a butterfly in the secret 
heart of the night as it bristles with an attractive energy that is sure to force a discovery of 
the newest dance step. 

 The pre-dance scene is a menu brimming with Italian classics, but creatively executed 
with a unique California twist. Chef Raul Mercado’s menu showcases a field of land and 
ocean dishes: pizza, pasta, steaks, fish, and a vast expression of salads. The prices for lunch 
seemed very reasonable, all in the ($12 to $15) range. Our friendly server, Kelsea, greeted 
us with homemade bread and cecca, which is 
a tomato, basil, garlic and olive oil mixture. 
I began my meal with the appetizer Crab 
Cakes ($9), leading me to sense that I was in 
great hands. . The crab cakes were not big enough for an entrée, but perfect for nibbling and 
chatting. As I raised the menu again, I overheard the couple next to me discussing their drive 
from Newport for the Cioppino. I was tempted to try it, but my stomach had other ideas, 
leading me to summon the Spicy Shrimp Linguini ($15). Enough shrimp to start a small 
sea. My partner for this lunch was torn between a salad or a full Fish Salmon Lunch. Kelsea, 
quickly made this a win, win, suggesting we get both. 
“You can make salad with the grilled Salmon,” she 
genially offered. Out of the mouths of babes comes 
the greatest wisdom. The plate leveled on our table 
with three nice portions of salmon and minutes later 
a disappearing act occurred as both our dishes were 
forked clean. In any restaurant business you often 
hear the expression location, location, location. But I 
say, food, food, food and - unbelievably - dance!! My 
compliments to Chef Raul, well crafted!!! Let’s hope 
that this is one dance that never ends.

 Yes, I paid my own way

Villa Sorriso, 168 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 
793-2233


STRAWBERRIES

ROMANOFF

The berries should chill for some time, so prepare the berries 2 to 4 hours before serving. 

INGREDIENTS:

•3 to 4 cups strawberries

•1/4 cup sugar

•1 cup heavy cream 

•1 cup good quality vanilla ice cream 

•3 to 4 tablespoons Cointreau, or orange juice

DIRECTIONS:

Wash and hull strawberries; halve large berries. Sprinkle with the sugar and chill thoroughly 
in refrigerator. Just before serving, beat cream until stiff. Beat ice cream until 
fluffy; fold ice cream into whipped cream. Add Cointreau, blending until smooth. Arrange 
strawberries in serving dishes and spoon cream mixture over them. Or, save a few berries 
for garnish and combine cream mixture with remaining berries. Serve with a garnish of 
strawberry slices and mint, if desired.

 Strawberries Romanoff serves 6. 

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com


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