Long-loved pizza joint may be closing; Italian chow from Chow Foods
My pizza-loving predecessor, restaurant critic John Hinterberger, has long been a fan of Elio Andolfi's Italian Spaghetti House (9824 Lake City Way N.E., Seattle; 206-523-2667). He ate his first pizza there in the early '60s when, pining for the perfect pie of his youth (from Sally's in New Haven, Conn.), he found a reasonable substitute in Lake City. "It wasn't perfect," he recalled decades later, "but I thanked God for it."
John, my friend, if you haven't already heard the news, let me break it to you gently: Your long-loved pizza joint is slated for closure. So says Anthony Andolfi, whose dad retired in ill health several years ago leaving the place in the hands of his son and daughter, Gina, who've worked there since they were kids.
In 2004, Elio passed away, says Anthony, and things haven't been the same since. "I always felt my dad did something special here," he says. "And people still come in and ask, 'Where's that big Italian guy in the suit who used to seat us?' "
With dad gone, business in decline and developers making offers on the property, the siblings have alerted their employees that the shop is on the block.
"There's currently a deal [for the sale], but I don't know for sure if it's going to go through," says Anthony. "If it does, we'll close at the end of March." And if it doesn't? "We may be open another year, year and a half."
Meanwhile, he posits, "most of the hard-core crew who've been here forever will stay with us till the end." And the rest of us had better get in there for pizza while the getting's still good. Hours: 4:30-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and till 10:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays.
Chow Foods goes the Ciao-route
Among the growing competition for a slice of the (pizza) pie are the owners of Chow Foods, Peter Levy and Jeremy Hardy, whose neighborhood-restaurant empire includes Capitol Hill's Coastal Kitchen, Queen Anne's 5 Spot and Ballard's Hi-Life, among others. Their latest effort, Mioposto (3601 S. McClellan St., Seattle), is a 40-seat Mount Baker cafe set to open early next month.
"This will be the smallest of all our restaurants," says Levy, whose plans for Mioposto ("my place") include early-morning hours, when neighbors can drop by for Caffé Vita's coffee and Essential's pastries, showing up later in the day for pizza, strombolis, sandwiches and salads, with prices that should top out at about $10.
"The only cooking appliance in the joint is a wood-burning pizza oven," says Levy, making this endeavor a major departure from the company norm of three-squares and a rotating globally inspired menu.
Why the change? "We've been wanting to find something with fewer moving parts. Something that's not as intense to manage and would fit the neighborhood and the space we have," Levy says. And what's next on Chow's always-hungry agenda? "We can't think too far ahead here, but we're getting a lot of interest from Tacoma."
Wine bar moves, Italians moving in
Portalis, Ballard's darling little wine shop and wine bar, has spilled down the block to a new location (5205 Ballard Ave. N.W., 206-783-2007; www.portaliswines.com), and owners Jens Strecker and Julie Howe couldn't be happier. The new Portalis made its debut Jan. 27 with seating for 45 (up from 30) and room enough to display 650 wines from around the globe.
Here, you may treat yourself to a special food and wine pairing or nibble from a brief menu of wine-friendly noshes 3-11 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 3 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays and noon till 10 p.m. Sundays.
Space constraints and the opportunity to become part-owners of the building prompted the move, says Howe, whose former shop will soon become — another little eat-and-drink hangout.
We'll have to wait until April to eat and drink there, though, says Giuseppe Forte, when I called to inquire whether the rumors regarding the next move for him and his best friend and business partner, Corino Bonjrada, were true. Yes, he said, they are at it again, intent on opening a little "tapas and wine bar" at the former Portalis site, with hopes of securing a liquor license for the place as well.
Don't you two have enough to do, I asked, what with running La Vita è Bella Café & Pizzeria (2411 Second Ave., Seattle, 206-441-5322) and Mondello Ristorante (2425 33rd Ave. W., Seattle, 206-352-8700; www.mondelloristorante.com)? "Oh, si," he answered.
But apparently, they couldn't help themselves when they heard about the upcoming vacancy. Not that they were looking for another restaurant. "We went there to eat, and the owner said he was moving, leaving that space. We thought, 'Oh, too bad!' and then, at the same moment, we looked at each other and ... ."
Nancy Leson: 206-464-8838 or taste@seattletimes.com.
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