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.
