Dish

Edited excerpts from the Going Out Gurus blog (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus):

Donna Seals a Deal

Roberto Donna has finally signed a lease for the former Butterfield 9 space at 600 14th St. NW. In a nod to his Galileo restaurants that once graced P Street and later 21st Street in Washington, the Italian chef is calling his next act Galileo III.

The future establishment will be considerably smaller than Donna's second Galileo, with just 75 seats spread throughout a main dining room and a more intimate Laboratorio del Galileo. ("Times are different," says the chef.) A single open kitchen will serve both venues.

Donna plans to be a regular presence at his next restaurant: "It's going to be my house," he jokes. Helping him out on the food front will be 40-year-old Paolo Boffa, whom Donna recruited to be chef de cuisine from Salute! in New York. A native of Milan, Boffa once worked at Centro in Bethesda.

Donna had signed a letter of intent before Christmas to rent the space and thought he could open by May. Now he's looking at October, "my best season to cook," he says.

Mio Loses Its Top Toque

Chef Nicholas Stefanelli and restaurateur Manuel Iguina are parting ways at Mio (1110 Vermont Ave. NW, 202-955-0075, http://www.miorestaurant.com).

They point to the recession. According to Iguina, business at the downtown restaurant was down 50 percent in April and May. "I want to do 100 lunches a day instead of 30," he says. To that end, the restaurateur has already made his once-trendy menu more accessible by putting on grilled chicken and chili-braised short ribs.

Stefanelli, 29, came to Mio with a strong résumé (he previously cooked at the now-closed, four-star Maestro) and high hopes for offering sophisticated fare. "I'm upset," he says. "A lot of work went into it." Yet both men say the split is amicable. "I want to see Mio succeed," says the chef, who is exploring "a few good opportunities here and there."

Meanwhile, Iguina has recruited a few friends to help out in the kitchen. "I'm going to take my time" hiring someone to take Stefanelli's spot, he says.

-- Tom Sietsema