Cafe Nordo- the Bounty!
One of my photos has been published on the Grist site!
(not this photo, go look at the article to see which one was used)

I’m lucky to have met the author Darby Smith, the night we went to Cafe Nordo.
We were there on the second night of the show, so we were among some of the foodie-rati of Seattle. Also at our table was Misha Berson, from the Seattle Times. Her review of the show is here.
When my friends Stuart and Julie invited me to Cafe Nordo on my visit to Seattle, I just said yes. They know me well and I trust them if they say ‘Just say yes, it’s gonna be awesome.’ Am I glad I went!
We were steeped in wine, great food, terrific company (both the company I came with and the company we met at our table), and fantastic performance, courtesy of some of the players from the now-defunct Circus Contraption.
The show itself was working out the kinks, but any hitches were played off well by the cast. The fourth wall was regularly broken, in fact we were seated on the inside of that wall! The humor was playfully dark, and the teachings about sustainability were not too heavy-handed. The presentation of each dish–creative enough had they just been handed us directly–hilarious, unpredictable and beautiful.
The food, oh the food! The term ‘delightful’ doesn’t begin to cover it. The first course- the room darkens, and we’re listening to the pitch and sway of our ship on the high seas, watching the Northern Lights play on the sky above. Server ninjas sneak something on to our dishes when we’re not looking, and the Lights get bright enough for us to taste it, while listening to the story of the birth of the universe. It’s creamy, like good uni- and then *BANG POW* in m mouth! What the..? POP ROCKS?? The reality of this dish occurs to me just as I hear Julie giggle in the dark to my right. I know we’re in for an imaginative meal.
The geoduck sashimi salad on perfectly fresh seaweed, the seafood fete served in AN AQUARIUM, with hot broth poured from tea kettles, the salmon was so fresh that Mr Misha remarked, “That. Is a recently deceased fish.” Our very own Baked Alaska for dessert, replete with sugar ‘beach glass’ on top!
The plot wasn’t as strong as the character development, but we got a great sprinkling of real history of the area. The characters were named after salmon, the tables were named after.. islands? Did I mention there was a different local wine with each course? Delicious. I only wish there had been coffee served at the end.
We staggered around the corner to Cafe Ladro to sober up enough to drive, already nostalgic for the evening we’d just shared. We made new friends, ate amazing food, were entertained and we learned something. A wholesome night out, and it was worth every penny.
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Abundant sunshine. It’s October 24. I’ll take ‘made the right move’, for $1000, Alex.