My family and I have been going to LaBella Pasteria in Oak Park for at least 15 years. Over the years, they have had a couple of different owners and have moved to a different location, but LaBella is still home for us.

Every major life event has been celebrated at LaBella. My husband and I used to go there for dinner when we were dating and then later celebrated both our engagement and rehearsal dinners there. We celebrated both of our sons’ grammar school and high school graduations there and this past year, our oldest son’s college graduation. My niece and nephew both had their communion parties at Labella. We have celebrated birthdays there, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and anniversaries. And, we eat at LaBella every Christmas Eve after 6pm mass at Ascension. Both the restaurant and the people at the LaBella are part of our family.

It has been a few months since we have been to LaBella, so we decided to go there for dinner this past weekend. As always, dinner was delicious, but it was the people who really made the trip there worthwhile. Dave saved us the perfect table at the window and we settled in and waited for Guillermo to join us. Guillermo has been our server for almost every meal and every event we have had at LaBella. No matter how busy the restaurant is, Guillermo always grabs a seat at our table and we spend a few minutes catching up on our crazy lives. He always asks about the kids, our parents, my sister and her family…he knows them all!

We spent a few minutes catching up with Dave and his wife who are the current owners of LaBella and just two awesome, gracious people. We have gotten to know them more over the last few years and really enjoy spending time with them. We also had the opportunity to say hello to some of the other staff that we have gotten know. LaBella to us is like Cheers to Norm; everyone knows our name and it totally feels like home!

This trip to LaBella, I tried a new dish on the specials menu: Lemony Alfredo Pasta with Shrimp Siciliano.

I wasn’t sure how the lemon and alfredo sauce would taste together, but the combination was delicious. The lemon really brightened up the alfredo sauce and the shrimp were huge and cooked perfectly. The crunch from the breading gave great texture to the dish. And kudos to the chef at LaBella - the homemade pasta was cooked to a perfect aldente!

We finished our meal (as always) with my favorite…Pinot Cake! This is the most moist cake I have ever eaten. It has just the right amount of sweetness. I’m not exaggerating; I end every meal with this cake!

So, thank you to everyone at LaBella for a great evening and an amazing 15 years! We appreciate your friendship, your service, and your amazing food! We will be home again soon!