A restaurant until proven theater, Café Nordo seeks to bring diners closer to their food – indeed, closer to its origins and the practices that reared it, but also closer to the carnal act of consumption. Café Nordo (helmed by the eponymous chef Lefesczki) believes that cooking is human, our addition to the world, and that we must cleanse our diets of the theology of blandness that permeates our culture.

To dine is to experience the corporeal, and where better to partake in this than in a glowing room-within-a-room in the belly of a warehouse?

The eccentric and particular staff of guides (Carter Rodriguez, Colleen Carey, Devin Bannon and Becky Poole) lead guests through five courses as conducted by a charming maître’d (Maximillian Davis) and punctuated by Nordo’s devoted sous-chef (Opal Peachey). The evening is scored on piano and accordion by Annastasia Workman. For the indulgent, a carefully selected glass of wine accompanies each course.

Blanquet de Limoux

Chilled Parsley Shot, Savory Lemon Curd, Crème Fraîche

Spinach Salad with Poached Egg, Shredded Parmesan & Phyllo Nest, Goat Cheese Bechamel, Wysling Winery’s 2012 Band of Two Sisters

Roasted Chicken Soup, Chopped Liver Dumpling, Wild Seasonal Mushrooms, (or, for the vegetable lovers: Vegetable Soup with Wild Seasonal Mushrooms), King Estate Acrobat Rose of Pinot Noir 2011

Roasted Chicken, Housemade Sumac Chicken Sausage, Habanero Cherries, (or, for our vegetarian companions: Garbanzo and Pomegranate Drumstick with Habanero Cherries), Very special wine selection to be announced imminently as we continue to explore the region for the Northwest’s best wines.

Theo Chocolate Panna Cotta, Marionberry Coulis