Food & Drink

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

0317_eatdrink_Little-Lago

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

Follow Us

‘The Lunchbox’

‘The Lunchbox’

Luke Kolpin brings a sense of experimentation and whimsy to his work at Cedar + Elm

Would you try salted caramel ice cream with hints of mushroom? How about pumpkin with a drizzle of seaweed oil? Chef Luke Kolpin, head chef at Cedar + Elm, located within The Lodge at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore, hopes you’ll give some unexpected flavor combos a try. Photo courtesy of The Lodge at

Seattle Restaurant Week Starts Sunday

Seattle Restaurant Week Starts Sunday

Get some great deals while supporting favorite establishments

For two weeks, you can eat your heart out in Seattle and surrounding neighborhoods during Seattle Restaurant Week. From April 14-27, prepare for exclusive, budget-friendly menus at over 200 restaurants throughout the city.

The Region's Best Mexican Food is in a Snohomish County Parking Lot 

The Region’s Best Mexican Food is in a Snohomish County Parking Lot 

Hidden Gems Weekend Market is again open for business

Among the 20 aisles of some 300 vendors selling everything from Native American beadwork to the classic flea market assortments of knickknacks and hardware, sits the Northwest's biggest and best assortment of regional Mexican cuisine, street foods, and snacks.

Tastes of Oaxaca

Tastes of Oaxaca

Alebrijes Oaxaca Kitchen food truck rolls into White Center 

Colorful strands of papel picado flutter above the new turquoise Alebrijes Oaxacan Kitchen food truck in White Center, as if flagging down bystanders to stop in for memelas, tlayudas, and masa-thickened mushroom soup.