Food & Culture
Love Cafe Lago? Now There’s a Little Lago, Too
A new Cafe Lago market offshoot pops up at Portage Bay
By Chelsea Lin March 24, 2017
This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Seattle Magazine.
If you could dream up the ideal corner market for your neighborhood, what would it look like? Pantry staples—some good-quality olive oil, dried beans, pints of Ben & Jerry’s, that kind of stuff—are essential. Produce is a bonus. Wine and baguettes would be lovely.
If we’re really allowed to dream, how about hot rotisserie chickens ($12.99 whole), pizzas fired to order, a full espresso bar, deli sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies and take-home slices of lasagna? Carla Leonardi, owner of Italian restaurant and Montlake institution Cafe Lago, has opened just such a magical market in the Portage Bay neighborhood, in the space that briefly housed Ericka Burke’s Canal Market. Little Lago is not a full-scale restaurant, and Leonardi is quick to clarify that it never will be. But it’s exactly the kind of place we’d all like to have within walking distance from home: somewhere to pick up a few ingredients on the way home, or sit down at the custom bar to enjoy a roasted mushroom and Taleggio pizza ($12) hot from the Wood Stone oven. You’ll be treated like a friend and neighbor because, after all, Leonardi lives in the ’hood. Portage Bay, 2919 Fuhrman Ave. E; 206.922.3324; littlelago.com
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