Wednesday, June 13, 2012

More Cafe Nordo? Yes, Please!

Cafe Nordo, the imaginative, even zany pop-up restaurant and dinner theater, has extended its current run of "Cabinet of Curiosities" through June 23rd. It's a look at the history of food, with an emphasis on poisonous mushrooms, immortal vegetables, and mysterious soups.

Under the aegis of the imaginary "Chef Nordo Lefesczki" patrons are served three appetizer courses in lavishly decorated rooms of Capitol Hill's venerable Washington Hall, (a French Salon, a cave of Invasive vegetables, a magician's parlor) before the main banquet is served. Lefesczki himself remains aloof, but is represented by his creative alter egos, the impresarios Erin Brindley and Terry Podgorski, along with an able staff of guides and actors (who double as waiters),

The four-hour, five-course performance is filling and satisfying, both gastronomically (Painted Hills filet, Wilson Fish king salmon) and artistically, Details at www.cafenordo.com; reservations via Brown Paper Tickets

Podgorski, a Circus Contraption alumnus, tells Cornichon that the next Cafe Nordo, this fall, will be at a venue in the International District. "We're not like Teatro Zinzanni, with a permanent location, because that would spoil the secret, the exclusivity. We do two shows a year with a capacity of maybe 1,200 people. You have to be in the know."