Via Bella: Good Italian Food, Friendly People (Chicago-Area Restaurant Review 12)

We were in the neighborhood, and it was a beautiful evening, so we decided to stop at an Italian restaurant we've frequented a couple times before that has outdoor seating. The restaurant is in a pleasant part of downtown LaGrange, a suburb about 35 minutes west of downtown Chicago, which adds to the ambience. As expected late on a Wednesday evening, we had our choice of outdoor tables. This is especially nice because, unlike some restaurants with outdoor seating, here the tables are large and spaced far enough apart to be comfortable.

We weren't all that hungry, so Lisa ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad, and Steve ordered "only" the six-finger cavatelli with marinara sauce instead of the vodka sauce it usually comes with. The tomatoes and mozzarella were both fresh, and the onions that came with tasted tangy. Steve really liked the pasta, which had an excellent cheese-based stuffing. We each had a glass of Red Zinfandel, which was a fine accompaniment to our food.

While we didn't order much this time, in the past Steve has had other types of pasta, which he liked just as well. Lisa has had the stuffed mushrooms, which are wonderful. This is not a fancy restaurant and doesn't really have high end entrees, but if you're looking for good Italian food and pleasant surroundings, this is a good choice. We have now eaten here 3 or 4 times, even though Italian food is not usually our first choice. (First choice is steak, if you haven't guessed.)

The total bill at Via Bella for two people, with wine and without dessert, was about $35.

Both Steve and Lisa thought that the bathrooms, while not stellar, were in keeping with the rest of the place. They were clean and pleasant.

We both love to eat outdoors, if we can, but we both hate bugs. So, for the summer, we're adding a new category to our ratings if we eat outside. If there are no bugs, as was the case at Via Bella, the rating is 0 bug zappers. If the bugs are on kamikaze missions, bent on destroying us and our table (or if a tarantula crawls up onto the table, as happened to Steve in the Dominican Republic), the rating will be 5 bug zappers.

Our ratings for Via Bella, 75 S. LaGrange Rd., LaGrange, Illinois:

7 of 10 Steak Knives (although really not a steak place); 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes; 0 of 5 Bug Zappers (a really pleasant outdoor dining experience)