Michael "Gui-tard" K.'s Profile

This brand-spankin' new store opened in October 2008 when the Millburn store closed/moved to this location.
The place is large. Everything is of the highest quality, if you can afford it. There are some bargains to be had if you look carefully. I got some beautiful, fresh flounder fillets for $6.99 lb. The veal osso buco was cheaper than at King's or Wegman's, although the rest of the meat prices were sky-high.
The produce is superb. They had quail eggs, fresh duck eggs for $1 each, and something I could not believe I was seeing for sale: fresh emu eggs for $24.95 each (see photo). WTF do you do with that?
There's a huge selection of bulk nuts and grains, organic cereals, cheeses, coffees, teas, and, of course, a big salad bar, hot food bar, pizza bar, soups and high-quality prepared foods that are very appealing.
Of course, the store features a big selection of natural health and beauty products that Whole Foods is known for, plus a unique self-service bath salts bar, a gigantic fresh squeezed veggie juice bar, as well as a huge selection of ridiculously expensive designer chocolate bars, which are currently the rage.
They also stock my beloved Columela Spanish olive oil.
This is an exciting and fun place to shop, but bring plenty of dough. Also, be aware that if you need to purchase items such as an ordinary, incandescent light bulb, or national brand-name paper goods or cleaning products, you will not find them here.

There's a few La Villa restaurants--this is the one in Queens. They have a pleasant al fresco patio for outdoor dining, as long as you don't mind getting buzzed every few minutes by low-flying jumbo jets on landing approach to JFK airport.
I had a delicious fennel, roasted beet, and arugula salad to start. The chicken and pasta entrees looked good, but I came here to try their famous Margherita pizza.
This pie was a quintessential New York pizza, reminiscent of Original Ray's in Manhattan. It was all about the chewy, bready crust, not the cheese or tomato sauce, which dried up in the oven. I ordered the pie topped with shaved Prosciutto di Parma.The ham made it more of a flavorful meal. Without the topping, the pizza would have been pretty bland.
After the first slice, the appeal started to wear off. I couldn't manage to eat the edge of the crust, it was just too much bread.
This was not the best pizza I have ever eaten, not by a long shot. It was also a little pricey; I don't think I've ever paid $35 for a pizza before, and am unlikely to do so again. However, the appetizer was great, so I would be willing to come back and try some of their other salads or entrees.