Mangia, mangia!

Italy's on the march.

The Loveman cometh, the Spiceman goeth. Sean Langan of Café Amore takes over the Spice lounge at the corner of Fifth and Bell. He intends to remodel the Bell St. patio into the main entrance, complete with fountains and Roman columns, show silent movies, name the cocktails for old film stars, and offer 2-for-$25 dinners once a week.

Then he'll turn the current Amore space into a crepe and waffle shop called La Crepe. And he has plans to turn the Spice dining room into yet another concept called Belltown Diner.

For his part, Spice owner Nazir Khamisa will keep his adjacent properties, Beba's Deli and Dos Amigos. He never quite made a go of Spice, which had a large, unfocused menu and was drifitng into a vague nightclub mode.

Good news coming to Queen Anne as well. The "soul" of two popular Italian spots, Belltown's Vita è Bella and Magnolia's Mondello, Enza Sorrentino, is going to open a place of her very own, Sorrentino's Trattoria, where Lumette now stands. She promises homemade pasta that will change the way Seattle thinks about Italian food. Can't wait!

Posted by Ronald Holden at October 2, 2006 9:13 AM