Chef's Kitchen

Salvatore Lembo moved to Bellevue in 1987. Prior to that, he had worked in a cousin's hotel restaurant and pizzeria in Sicily. His family was in the fashion industry in Italy. After arriving in Bellevue, he began working at the front door of Calabria restaurant in Kirkland, mainly as a favor to his friend, the owner. As he became more interested and had more of a feeling for the business, he worked in all areas of the restaurant. Eventually, he decided to open his own place. He designed every detail of Firenze (it was an empty warehouse space) and created the menu. Started on a shoestring, it has now been a staple of Bellevue's restaurant scene since 1992. In 2007, he took over the space next door and created Pizzeria Guido & Wine Bar, named after his father. They serve Tuscan-style pizza, pasta, calzone and antipasti.

Put the most flavor in your food, by Owner Salvatore Lembo

Good food can be very simple food; you just need to make the flavors come out. One simple trick for this recipe is to finish cooking the pasta in the sauté pan with sauce. Add parmigiano or ricotta salata (an Italian sheep's milk cheese) at the very end.

If you get your Italian pancetta from a butcher or deli counter, ask them to cut it a bit thicker than normal, about 1/4" thick. This will give you more flavor as well.

Firenze
15600 NE 8th St
Bellevue, WA 98008
425-957-1077
www.firenzerestaurantbellevue.com

Pizzeria Guido & Wine Bar
15600 NE 13th St
Bellevue, WA 98008
425-614-0007
www.pizzeriaguido.com/
 

Click here to see Salvatore's recipe

April 2010
Reprinted October 2014