In a secret gin-joint within Theo Chocolate Factory the incomparable Chef Nordo Lefesczki teams up with "America's Best Bartender" Murray Stenson to bring Seattle an evening of sizzling entertainment, creative food, and smoking music that harkens back to another era.

This fall, Café Nordo returns to Fremont with Sauced, one part historical tour of mixology, one part film noir thriller, shaken and served up with a dash of the surreal. Fedoras nod to the beat of original jazz tunes performed love as four of the top performers in Seattle deliver salty one-liners and perfectly-poured classic cocktails to an intimate audience. Paired with each cocktail is Chef Nordo Lefesczki's interpretation of bar food: deconstructed, reconstructed, and then deconstructed again. As per the laws of Café Nordo, only the finest local, sustainable ingredients are served, and local craft distilleries provide the booze.

With Billie Wildrick (most recently seen in Candide and On The Town at the 5th Avenue Theatre) as the bombshell lounge singer, Mark Siano ("One of Seattle's top cabaret acts" — Seattle Gay Scene) as the washed-up bar owner, Ray Tagavilla (Seattle Magazine Spotlight Award Winner) as the bartender with a secret, and Opal Peachey as the cocktail waitress on the edge, Sauced delves into the sexy, dirty, soul-baring darkness of humanity under the influence. Under the the "beguiling" (Seattle Times) spell of Annastasia Workman's original jazz score, performed live by the Café Nordo House Band, audiences sip and taste as a story of mystery and betrayal unfolds all around them.

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Ease on in and have a seat with an ode to the sweet side of life. Using Blanquette de Limoux, the oldest sparkling wine, and St. Germaine’s essence of elderflowers picked seasonally in the Alps, this pleasant bubbly potion opens the door to the evening’s festivities.

served with A Nut Dish:
Pecans, cashews, pepitas, and puffed rice with turmeric lime glaze.

2nd Course: The Secret Kiss AKA The Alaska

This clear and refreshing homage to the traditional usage of botanicals in spirits effortlessly combines The Carthusian Monks' secret recipe of Yellow Chartreuse with the handcrafted gin of the Pacifique Distillery in Woodinville to deliver a bright and aromatic cocktail.

served with The Pickled Plate:
Beet-pickled quail egg, lightly pickled cucumber and cream cheese wrapped in house cured sockeye, juniper-berry-pickled beet enrobed in a goat cheese and saffron carrot sheet, cerignola green olive, all nestled in a dill custard.

3rd Course: A Box of Nails AKA The Crumb Bum

And this is what an American was supposed to be: drunk on potential, wild with success. Originally from Manhattan, this boozy ember of a cocktail recalls the fire of the American obsession with spirits. Evan Williams Bourbon, Triple Sec, and dashes of Angostura. Stirred, never shaken.

served with The Fried Plate:
Cornmeal-fried house-preserved lemon in a chipotle mayonnaise, puff pastry jalapeño pepper stuffed with emmenthaler, cheddar, and marinated sirloin.

4th Course: Nordo's Ephemera

Ingenious. Infused. Intrigue... From the secret laboratory deep within Theo Chocolate. Ephemeral.

served with A Blackberry Cloud:
French meringue with crème anglaise and wild Washington blackberries.

As always, Chef Nordo reserves the right to modify the menu to accomodate seasonality, availability, and his general mood.