Villa Nova Restaurant.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: DINING

Hungry Alaskans looking for flesh, home-made Italian fare should drop by Villa Nova Restaurant, located at the northeast corner of Arctic Boulevard and International Airport Road in Anchorage.

Owner and Chef Giorgio was born in Sicily and pursued his life's passion for cooking at the Culinary Institute of Milan, Italy, and the Cordon Bleu in France. After moving to Alaska, he opened Villa Nova in 1983, and sold it in 2001 to retire. But he realized that the retired life wasn't for him, repurchasing the restaurant in 2004.

Everything on the menu is made from scratch with fresh ingredients, local when possible. The menu consists of Italian foods: pasta, like the house-made lasagna, layered with extra lean ground beef, homemade marinara, blended herbs, and an emulsion of four cheeses; salad, including Giorgio's Salad with tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions and fresh basil in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing; filettini alla veneziana, which is tender filet medallions with fresh mushrooms in a cream sauce...