Behind the fogged front window of La Villa Bakery & Café, I found a hearth-like hideaway. Local construction workers laughed with the elderly clerks, each woman behind the counter in a forest green apron laughing and switching between English and Italian with a fluid ease that always marvels. I had picked the coldest day of fall to explore; that morning I had been greeted by a thin sheaf of snow lounging on the concrete outside my place when I set out. My riceball ($4)—a deep fried orb of fluffy, sticky rice covering a lump of ground veal and peas splashed with a sweet, pulpy, Parmesan-heavy tomato sauce—was warm and hearty, just what I needed to see me through my frigid day in Port Credit. A boiling hot, though forgettable, cappuccino ($3), and a Sicilian cannoli ($2) hiding under a mound of icing sugar (it wasn’t loose powder; it refused to tumble off) rounded off my meal. Despite the perturbing radio filling in the background, I found myself whiling away the afternoon full, content, and comfortable in the front booth of my exploration’s discovery.
La Villa Bakery & Cafe
331 Lakeshore Rd. E, Mississauga, ON L5G 1H3