Show 169, April 30, 2016: Villa Roma Restaurant, Laguna Hills

Teresa RazoVilla Roma restaurant in Laguna Hills is one of the undiscovered gems of dining in South Orange County. Unusually they serve a menu of both Argentine and Italian Cuisine. Their Chimichurri is a word-of-mouth favorite. Co-Owner Teresa Razo (also the Marketing & Catering Director) joins us.

The traditional housemade Argentine-style empanadas are standouts. Usually available are your choice of chicken, beef or spinach. Tuesdays are Empanada Tuesdays at Villa Roma. All empanadas are 99 cents for either take-out or dine-in.

“Villa Roma is a unique restaurant combining Argentine and Italian flavors. Our cuisine combination was inspired by “La Boca”, a neighborhood of the Argentine capital. La Boca is located in the city’s southeast near the old port. In the early 1900’s, Argentina had over 2 million Italian immigrants, most of them settled in this southeastern part of the country because of the similarity to their port town named Genoa, Italy.”

“La Boca is a popular tourist destination in Argentina. It’s known for its colorful houses and pedestrian street, “El Caminito”, where street tango artists perform, musicians, and tango memorabilia is sold. Tango music drifts through the air from one restaurant bar to another.”

“We decided to continue history and bring the Argentine and Italian flavors to Orange County. Just as La Boca retains a strong Italian flavor, we retain our unique Argentine and Italian cuisine flavor.”