Saleh Al Lago Leads A Parade Of Closings, Add-Ons, Openings

After 17 years plying swooning customers with sauteed calamari, the creamiest risotti and veal so tender and delicious it could convert the staunchest vegetarian, Saleh Joudeh is bowing out of business at Green Lake's venerable Saleh al Lago. His wife, Lucy, and trusty sidekick, business-partner and lead waitress, Dorothy Frisch, will say goodbye along with him when they close their restaurant Oct. 1.

Joudeh - a nationally recognized, self-taught chef who got his culinary start flipping burgers at a bowling alley - has withstood the heat of a restaurant kitchen for 26 years. And the time has come, he says with a great deal of regret, to get out.

"For years, I promised my customers that if I could not be there (in his restaurant's kitchen), I'd close the doors," says the Syrian native who called Italy home before coming into Seattle's collective consciousness as owner of an Arab- and Italian-accented U-District restaurant, Avenue 52. Joudeh notes that while he is closing Saleh al Lago, he is "passing the torch" (and some of his classic recipes) to chef Philip Mihalski, a Marco's Supperclub alum who has been working in Saleh's kitchen since February.

After a brief closure for a cosmetic face lift, the restaurant (at 6804 E. Green Lake Way N., Seattle), will reopen as Nell's in early November. Under Mihalski's ownership, the menu will focus on contemporary American cooking tweaked with Northwest ingredients and European flair.

And now for some good news: When Montlake's Daily Grind closed early this month, Jordi Viladas and Carla Leonardi jumped at the chance to annex the corner space that adjoins charming Cafe Lago (2305 24th Ave. E., Seattle; 206-329-8005). Construction has yet to begin and their Class H liquor license is still under review, but the couple hopes their new addition (adding approximately 30 seats and a small bar to their ever-crowded trattoria), will be completed by Cafe Lago's ninth anniversary, Oct. 20. Does expansion mean reservations will (finally) be accepted at Cafe Lago? Yes, on a limited basis, says Viladas - whose handmade pasta is arguably (though you won't get an argument from me) the best in the city. "We still want to keep tables open for walk-in traffic," he says. Make that traffic jam.

Brothers Patrick and Bruno Girardi of Ciao Italia are also expanding their Italian-food universe. And Edmonds is waiting with bated garlic-breath. Construction is scheduled to begin this month on a remodel of a cozy corner house in downtown Edmonds, to be home to Girardi's Osteria Italiana. The Girardis' second restaurant is a mere pizza-toss away from Ciao Italia (546 Fifth Ave., Edmonds, 425-771-7950), which they'll eventually scale back and turn into a no-frills, eat-in-or-take-out pizza and pasta joint (with 30 versions of chef Bruno's fabulous, thin-crust pies).

Cocktails and such specialties as osso buco and bistecca Fiorentina will bolster the original Ciao Italia menu, to be recreated at the rustic-food oriented, candlelit osteria once it opens early this winter.

Leo Melina Ristorante (96 Union St., Seattle, 206-623-3783) is under new ownership, with local investment banker Douglas Anderson at its managerial helm. The restaurant's original owner and namesake, Leo Varchetta, has left Seattle for sunnier climes. Chef Ali Guler (ex-Assaggio and al Boccalino) has been recruited to run Leo Melina's exhibition kitchen, where the Italian menu relies on Northwest seafood for inspiration.

Lighter fare (including sandwiches) can now be had at lunch. Proximity to the new symphony hall and Seattle Art Museum has persuaded Anderson to take Leo Melina's long-running, live opera once-a-weekend-only program and expand on it. Classical musicians will now play here seven nights a week.

Fabrizio Loi, owner/chef of Kirkland's Ristorante Paradiso (120-A Park Lane, Kirkland, 425-889 8601), and business-partner Laura Miller have given new life to 2220 Queen Anne Ave. N. If that address doesn't ring a bell, it should. It has belonged to umpteen restaurants - most notably, Pirosmani, most recently Iron Gate, now Villa Paradiso. Open since the end of July, this lovely, white-linen ristorante has been offering upscale versions of Italian favorites in a handsomely pared-down setting. At the moment Loi, who oversees the kitchen (where chef Justin Lang presides), is gathering ideas in Italy while Miller (most recently an assistant manager at Flying Fish) is holding her own in Paradise. Go Italian at Sunday brunch (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) or come for dinner, Tuesday through Sunday.

Nancy Leson's phone number is 206-464-8838. Her e-mail address is: nleson@seattletimes.com