FOOD MATTERS | Little Italy without the pizza; also chicken and waffles

What’s up here? A liquor license application from an outfit named Aglio e Olio (2743 E. Madison St.) lists Luigi DeNunzio as one of the applicants. He’s well-known in the Italian-American restaurant community, with two Pioneer Square restaurants to his name (Al Boccalino and Che Sara Sara), plus Cafe Bengodi, recently relocated to Beacon Hill.

He’s a one-man Little Italy, you might say, so what’s he doing moving into Madison Valley? Ah, what Italians have always done to survive: adapt.

DeNunzio came to Seattle 30 years ago, when there were virtually no authentic Italian spots run by Italians.

By nature proud and insular, Italians have a tradition of loyalty to their very specific corner of the peninsula — not to the Republic of Italy (which was only established in 1861) but to their ancestral regione, one of 20 Italian provinces: Calabria, Puglia, Sicily, Veneto, Tuscany and so on. Even if you could speak the language of the neighboring regione (no sure thing), you certainly wouldn’t marry outside your homeland.

The 62-year-old Luigi (difficult to call him anything else), who hails from Brindisi in Puglia (the heel of the Italian boot), reminds us that Italians may have been mortal enemies at home, but in their new country, they needed to put up a united front. Hence, “Little Italy” communities of culture, food, fashion and fellowship in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Vancouver.

Luigi understands that restaurateurs like Ethan Stowell may not be Italian by heritage, but unlike other Italian chefs, he does not disdain Stowell’s cuisine: “Who cares if he puts peas into his alfredo?” You wouldn’t give up your Ferrari just because the dealer’s name was O’Malley, would you?

So, in Madison Valley, Luigi and two partners are taking over the Pizza Hut location. It’s 1,300 square feet, mostly kitchen (as befits a takeout location), with seating for 25.

Cucina Povera (literally, “the cooking of the poor”) is how Luigi describes his cuisine. It’s neither Neapolitan pizza (street food!) nor high-falutin’ northern Italian. Instead, it’s what he grew up with in Brindisi.

Aglio e Olio translates as “garlic and oil,” two staples that provide the dressing for a late-night plate of pasta.
“Back to basics,” Luigi said. “Oven-based dishes, fresh herbs, good olive oil. No pizza.”

Simple eats

I wish I could say even nicer things about Fat’s, the new replacement for the much-loved Catfish Corner at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way East and East Cherry Street. The décor is bright and inviting; the chicken drumsticks are crunchy with spicy breading, though a bit dry; andthe waffles are plenty sweet without the syrup. (Should you order a side of gravy? Probably. Should the upbeat server have suggested it to me?).

Not quite enough going on here for me to come back, especially with two waffles and two drumsticks priced at what seemed a rather stiff $14, what with Ezell’s Famous Chicken down on 23rd Avenue (less than $5 for the chicken) and a half-dozen KFCs within easy driving distance.

Pity, because owner Marcus Lalario has had great success with his earlier place, L’il Woody’s (1211 Pine St.). All in all, a welcome asset to the neighborhood.

Catfish? Yes, there’s still catfish. Red beans and rice, sure. And collard greens. Yes, Nate’s Wings & Waffles in Rainier Valley was supposed to be part of this renaissance, but Darren McGill and Lalario went their separate ways.

Up the street, at The Neighbor Lady (2308 E. Union St.), there’s action throughout the day as denizens of the Central Area and purchasers from Uncle Ike’s pot shop next door slide onto the bar stools and order their Jameson shots, their vodka sodas, their tequila and Cokes.

The owners, Stephan Mollmann and Shira Bray, who also run the Twilight Exit (2514 E. Cherry St.), took over the former Thompson’s Point of View; the flocked wallpaper is a “pretend” relic, almost an in-joke, a wink to the old-fashioned way of referring to a bordello.

The menu, continuing the brothel theme, refers to appetizers as foreplay; it skews to vegetarian and vegan-friendly. There’s no table service; you order at the bar, which offers a reasonable selection of beers on tap.

The Havana is a bacon-loaded tribute to the more familiar pulled-pork Cuban sandwich. Burgers, too, because The Neighbor Lady knows what you like when you think no one’s looking.

Hot tip: a new spot called Ernest Loves Agnes (602 19th Ave. E.), just up the hill from Madison Valley. It’s in the old Kingfish Café space, revitalized by the folks behind Capitol Hill Block Party, and the most delicious bite on the menu is a dessert called Orange Blossom. It’s a citrus-scented cream piped into a pinched tuile cookie, topped with candied citrus zest. You will lick your fingers.

RONALD HOLDEN is a restaurant writer and consultant who blogs at Cornichon.org and Crosscut.com. To comment on this column, write to MPTimes@nwlink.com.