Skippack Life: At La Villa Mexican Grille, with Friends

Skippack Blogger and Debby AKA Mrs. Skippack Blogger (at right) with friends at La Villa Mexican Grille in Skippack: Brad DeForest, Web Design and SEO, and Kate DeForest.
La Villa Mexican Grille
4101 Skippack Pike
PO Box 120
Skippack, PA 19474
(484) 991-8085
Sunday – Thursday: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
The Skippack Blogger is working hard, both at this blog you are reading and his day job. The Skippack Blogger’s wife is working hard too, at her job and at keeping me organized and out of trouble. So Sunday evening it was time for a break. My Web hosting, Design and SEO Go-To-Guy Brad DeForest and his wife Kate invited us out to dinner at La Villa Mexican Grille, which recently opened in Skippack and is becoming increasingly popular.
Our host was the restaurant’s owner and executive chef Rene Zepeda. My role as the Skippack Blogger gives me an excuse to observe life around me; I get a view behind the scenes. I sense how hard Rene works to make the dining experience at La Villa special and how much pride he takes in owning his own restaurant.

La Villa Mexican Grille Owner and Executive Chef Rene Zepeda: A warm welcome and a sophisticated meal, that perfect Skippack combo.
Rene put much effort into, and succeeded at, creating an environment that lends itself to relaxing, conversing and celebrating the moment at hand. The interior walls are bright orange, decorated with Mexican artwork, the tablecloths provide a contrasting white, and the overall effect is cheerful and pleasing.
Rene is a gourmet chief who won top honors in a cooking competition sponsored by Philadelphia Magazine. The menu is creative, and highlights the sophisticated side of Mexican fare, offering a fusion of the contemporary Mediterranean cuisine and savory Mexican flavors.
Brad and I work together on a lot of projects. It is time at last to clink wine glasses in a toast and talk of other things. Kate tells us a bit about their children’s experience at Perkiomen Valley High School, and then we move on to discuss church, synagogue, fishing, investing, eBay shopping, winter driving, Debby’s experiences learning to drive in New York, my travels in Japan and on and on. It is as if the conversation travels around the globe and then finds itself happy to be back in Skippack again, realizing how special the happiness is here that we have in our own backyard.
I can’t let the evening go by without mentioning my beloved Skippack blog; let every man have his passion. Earlier in the afternoon, I was in a nearby supermarket and a woman I never met before walked up to me and said, “You’re the Skippack Blogger.” Wow. That is an experience that must be told to friends so that the memory, a few passing words in a supermarket aisle, will take on a more substantial significance and reality. I relish having an audience. If Debby, who witnessed the event, was not sitting beside me, I might have told Brad that the woman asked me for my autograph to see if I could get away with it.
Too quickly the evening hour grows late; we are the only customers left, lingering over dessert and coffee. Time to go. Rene bids us a warm farewell and we promise to come back. I take a few more pictures for the blog, which provides an excuse to make the moment last a bit longer.
How many gifts are compressed into a single evening out in Skippack Village? Wine, great food, hospitality, a young restaurant owner making his dreams come true, the weekend respite from work, friendship, generosity, graciousness, laughter — all topped off by chocolate soufflé.
The Skippack Blogger can only say thanks to our host Rene and to my friends Kate and Brad, and to Debby for always being by my side. “Thanks”— a simple, common, ordinary word that must carry the weight of so much meaning. Then I awaken at 3 a.m., tiptoe down to the computer, and try to capture the moment in words and pictures, so it can be shared with you dear reader and so it is not lost forever.
Delicacies and Delights from La Villa Mexican Grille in Skippack

The Appetizer: La Villa Salad, comprised of avocados, tomatoes, queso fresco, and bell peppers, in a vinaigrette dressing.

The Skippack Blogger's salmon dinner at La Villa Mexican Grille in Skippack, right before I devoured it.

My friend Brad who, when he is not indulging in gourmet Mexican food, helps market businesses online, from Skippack shops to Fortune 500 companies, had poblano, a boneless chicken in a house mole sauce with a side of rice and beans.

My friend Kate DeForest ordered chiles rellenos, comprised of poblano peppers stuffed with cheese and boneless short ribs served in a tomato coulis.

For dessert, a tres leches cake, a sponge cake in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.

The Skippack Blogger with Rene Zepeda, owner and executive chef at La Villa Mexican Grille in Skippack. Thanks Rene for your hospitality and the great food and especially for coming here to Skippack.

I wouldn't try this right after eating: A painting depicting a bullfighter which hangs at La Villa Mexican Grille in Skippack.
Web Links
La Villa Mexican Grille Website
La Villa Mexican Grille Facebook Page
Brad DeForest Web Design and Social Media Facebook Page
A Blog Post about Brad’s Work in Skippack























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