New Face Put On Old Restaurant

For almost 50 years, if you wanted to name-drop a Seattle restaurant, the most dropable name was Canlis. The Aurora Avenue restaurant was the place where, they whispered, you'd be told "never return" if you dared to share an entree (not true, but often repeated.)

The Canlis of a hundred urban myths opened in 1950 and closed Sept. 21. It reopens to the public tonight, three weeks into an epic $1.5 million remodel.

Second generation restaurateur Chris Canlis credits his wife, Alice Canlis, with the heavy lifting on the remodel. The couple hired architect Jim Cutler (his other job is designing a mega-house for Microsoft chairman Bill Gates).

They picked metal artist David Gulassa, who has designed a striking 13-foot sculpture that now stands in front of the Aurora Avenue structure. It's marked with the letter "C."

Fortunately, the architect showed restraint when it came to updating the fabled women's room and its serene water garden. New is the stepping-stone path that leads to the doorway, constructed from sections of Japanese rice wheels.

Views of Lake Union from the restaurant have been enhanced, and a second story opened to share the ambiance with the main dining room below. The idea was to honor tradition, while creating the look for the future.

"We were trying for a timeless look," says Chris Canlis. "Something that will last for the next 50 years."

One shocker: The restaurant, one of the last refuges for

smokers and cigar-chompers, has reopened with a no-smoking policy.

John-John calling: It's amazing how many female Microsoft employees suddenly found the need to make a trip to the fax machine at the reception desk Wednesday. What was the attraction? It was to get a peek at George magazine publisher John F. Kennedy Jr., sometimes called "the sexiest man alive."

JFK Jr. ostensibly was in town to deliver a speech to the Seattle Advertising Federation yesterday at noon.

While at Microsoft, he turned reporter and interviewed Microsoft chairman Bill Gates III, a.k.a. "the richest man alive," for a story on Gates' book "The Road Ahead." The revised and updated book is being reissued in paperback.

JFK Jr. also visited Slate magazine publisher Michael Kinsley. Reportedly, the late president's son wanted to check the physical layout of an on-line magazine.

Rumors persist that JFK Jr. and his bride, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, are buying a home on Perkins Lane in Magnolia. But real-estate sources haven't been able to confirm that. There are doubts the couple would pick an area easily accessible to paparazzi.

Best whiskers: President Bill Clinton is really pursuing the family vote. One-year-old Emelia Martha Johnson, who lives in Tukwila with her mom, dad and big sister, last week received a birthday card.

The card, which arrived one day late, had pictures of Bill, Hillary and Socks. It was signed by Bill and Hillary, but no paw print from Socks, who apparently isn't seeking Emelia's vote.

Seeing double: Spotted Thursday was a car with a "Dole/ Kemp" sticker on the left side of its back bumper. On the right side, there was a "dual airbags" sticker. Doubt if the driver intended for people to connect the two.

Jean Godden's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the Local News section of The Times. Her phone is 464-8300.