Craving red meat and hummus? Try this place

By MARIJKE ROWLAND
mrowland@modbee.com

E-Mail

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

With a name like Villa Beef House, it's no big mystery what you'll find inside.

The new casual dining Mediterranean steak house at the corner of McHenry and Briggsmore avenues in Modesto had its grand opening last Friday.

Owner Daniel Daniel, a former Chicago restaurateur and owner of Danny's Grill in Modesto, brings his Assyrian background and Mediterranean flair to his food.

The menu includes a wide selection of steaks from filet mignon and T-bone to rib eyes and more. But the restaurant's repertoire is not limited to beef -- it also includes lamb chops, fresh fish filets and chicken dishes. Burgers, gyros, tabouli, baba ghanouj, hummus and falafel round out the offerings.

Villa Beef House is open for lunch and dinner, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.

Manager Ann-Marie Lorentz said food prices range from $6 to $26 (for a 10-ounce filet mignon). Its steak entrées start at $11.

The site, formerly the home of Mr. Chau's Chinese Fast Food, has been renovated and now seats about 120. Take-out service is also available for lunch and dinner.

Lorentz said while it is a casual, family-oriented restaurant, Villa Beef House has some fine dining touches, including white tablecloths and flowers on tables.

But the food, she said, is the real star.

"Once people have tried the food, they'll be back for it," she said. "The food is absolutely delicious."

Villa Beef House, 1809 McHenry Ave., plans to expand its hours in the near future and stay open until midnight. For more information, call 236-0188 or 236-0288.

Elsewhere around the Business Beat:

The Acts of Kindness Gift Boutique and Gallery has reopened for a final going- out-of-business sale.

The store at 619 14th St. was closed for several weeks at the beginning of the year after a theft was discovered. It reopened last week, but because of the theft, owners Sofie Pettygrove and Ramona Harris will shut it for good after all the existing merchandise is sold.

Acts of Kindness has been open since 2002 and in its current location since 2005. The store specializes in new age and spiritual books, CDs, incense, jewelry, cards, chimes, ornaments and more.

The shop will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays the rest of this month and weekends only starting in March. It is closed today, but will be open again Thursday.

The closing sale features discounts from 30 percent to 70 percent on some merchandise. Owners Pettygrove and Harris, who own the building, also plan to sell the property.

For more information, call 523-2825. ...

If April showers bring May flowers, then March Sephora should bring April makeovers to the Central Valley.

Two Sephora stores, a national beauty product retailer, will open in valley malls next month. First comes on March 6, when Sephora sets up shop in the J.C. Penney store at The Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley in Manteca. The second is scheduled for March 20 when a stand- alone Sephora shop opens at The Village at Vintage Faire Mall in Modesto.

Sephora is considered a destination retail chain, attracting consumers with its wide array of name- brand makeup, fragrances, skin care products and other related merchandise.

For more, visit www.sephora.com.

Have an item for Business Beat? Contact Marijke Rowland at The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto 95352; 578-2284 or mrowland@modbee.com.