To say that we’re fans of Casa Villa in Stamford would be an understatement–whether we’re nomming at their East Main Street location, to getting delivery from their West Main Street location, we just can’t get enough. We’ve even given it a rave review before, as has our Twitter friend (our twiend if you will), Nina Wales (here’s her post on Casa Villa), so we had to come back and review more of the menu. Yeah, we really sacrifice for you guys.
It also helped that Casa Villa beckoned us on Twitter inviting us to try out their new ceviche. Never one to say no to an invitation to nom, we dropped on by after working up a huge appetite snowboarding at Catamount. We were greeted by owner, Alvino Villa. He grew up in Puebla, Mexico and moved here 28 years ago. His passion for authentic, real deal Mexican shows through in his conversation and the staff at Casa Villa, who know the menu in and out. Knowing we were big fans, he treated us to a sampling of smaller portions of his food to get a “Taste of Mexico.” Oh, that’s their slogan. ;)
Ceviche
When we went to Casa Villa last, we had their Honduran style ceviche that I liked but Kristien wasn’t a major fan of the ketchup-y style. The ceviche that Alvino served us was made with fresh tilapia, finely ground celery, habanero, and bright, bright lime. This was a unique ceviche that had a major kick that can actually be tailored to your spice threshold level if you can handle the heat, ya wussy. I keed, I keed.
Carnitas Gordita
Imagine a “fat” corn tortilla, similar to the consistency of an arepa, on your plate with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and carnitas on top. The pork has been cooked nicely and is so tender. But, it didn’t stop there. They sprinkled on some tomatillo sauce, some fresh cotija cheese, then drizzled on some Creama Mexicana. With the cheese in both forms, you get a nice contrast to the heaviness and porkiness (that’s fun to say) of the carnitas. A yummy dish overall.
Pollo en Crema de Chipotle
We’ve seen this bad boy on the menu before, but the lure of tacos, mole, or poblanos always seemed to draw us away until a later date of consumption. Well, we had a smaller version and DAMN was it good. Like, we will dream of this for nights on end good. First, we were struck by how similar the dish looked to something you might find at a nice Indian restaurant, only with Mexican spices instead. Beautifully cooked chicken, mushrooms, and onions were swimming in a smoky, slightly spicy, and creamy chipotle sauce. The mushrooms gave the dish a nice earthiness to round out the flavors. We’d order this one again…and again…and, well, again. A new favorite for sure.
Bistec a la Mexicana
And onto another yummy dish, recommended by Alvino himself. Thin strips of steak, cooked with onions, fresh tomatoes, and jalapeños. There was a nice tanginess going on in the dish from the tomatoes, that jived well with the beef and onions. Definitely use the tortillas that come with the dish to wrap up a bit of heaven and add in the rice and beans that come alongside, too.
Daring Tacos
After staying at The Inn at Sweet Water Farms in MA and eating some rabbit, we were feeling brave. Plus, we felt like Casa Villa could do no wrong so we ordered a beef tongue taco and a chicharones taco. The beef tongue had a strong beefy taste and was cooked perfectly. The spices in the taco, too, were just right and were highlighted even more with a squeeze of lime. I know it sounds scary to try, but you would never know you’re eating tongue and it’s so good it’s totally worth it. The chicharones taco was actually one of the better chicarones that we’d had (along with one we had in Costa Rica), but we decided that we just aren’t fans of chicarones in general. Imagine bacon cooked extra EXTRA crispy, extra brown and that’s basically chicharones–a little too crunchy for us.
Flan and Tres Leches Cake
The flan had our hearts when we smelt it in front of us. A deep, intoxicating caramel wafted through the air and gave us the strength to get through the final stages of the meal. It was light, warm, and was some of the best flan that we’ve had. And, then we have the tres leches. Just, wow. Moist. Rich. Creamy. Wow.
We Out!
Casa Villa still has it! What’s even more awesomererest is that they do so many dishes well, from appetizers, to meals, to dessert. And of course they serve beer, wine and margaritas baby! Yeah, and they deliver, too-but only from their West Main Street location.
Noms: 4 Cost: $$$ (Pay Day Treat) Casa Villa Address: 866 East Main Street Stamford, CT 06902 Phone (Dine-in): (203) 348-0622 Phone (For take-out and delivery): (203) 323-1721 Site: http://www.casavillarestaurant.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/casavillarestaurant
OmNomCT 
Hubby and I are trying tonight :) Thanks for the review! Liz
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Hey Liz. Hope that you have a great, fun night. Glad we could help with the review. Stay dry!
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when going to a regional food, i always order the different :)
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I’ve always wanted to just walk into a restaurant, ask the waiter what the chef’s best dish is, then just order it, no matter what. Hmm. Deep.
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I usually just stick to tacos but your take has me rethinking my strategy. I will be there very soon thanks to this.
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Yeah, we usually hit the tacos hard, too, but this was a perfect opportunity to venture out and try some of the other items on the menu. Yum! :)
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Now i understand the region of Mexico and understand the food. I know Puebla, now i understand the food. The important thing about Authentic Mexican food is that each region has its own “Authentic” and it is all good when viewed in that light.
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Yeah, you’re right about that…it’s like Italian and how there are different styles there, too. Spain, too…so many different styles.
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