Posted by Nancy Leson - June 8, 2010
For the Pink Door's "la padrona" -- stage name Jacquelina di Roberto -- life is a cabaret: literally. At her Post Alley trattoria, Jackie Roberts opens the pink door to anyone willing to step through it and buy into the magic. That magic, the one she's been selling for nearly 30 years, is food, drink and entertainment. The Pink Door's mood owns the spotlight here in Pike Place Market, taking its musical cue from the theater, cabaret culture, bawdy burlesque.
Why, yes, that is a trapeze artist swinging from the rafters while you eat your antipasti. And no, this is not Teatro ZinZanni, but its lower-key forerunner: a ristorante e bar known for its flamboyant owner, its romantic rooftop overlooking Elliott Bay and its enormous entertainment value. Willkommen to the Pink Door, kept very much alive by a padrona whose taste for life is insatiable, though that life has taken a turn since she was diagnosed six months ago with Multiple Sclerosis.
The Pink Door's Jacquelina di Roberto says, "Life is a cabaret. Or a cabernet. Whichever comes first!" [photo of Jackie by Steve Smrstik]
"I'm the original bon vivant about sensuality and living in the world of taste and smell," Jackie told me. And when she lost her sense of taste and smell two years ago, "It was a big change in who I am." Other symptoms followed, "but because MS is multi-factorial, there were symptoms I didn't know were MS." Initially, "I thought those symptoms, including insomnia, were just due to the lifestyle of a restaurant owner": too much good wine, not enough good sleep.
Read more of Jackie's story.
Her naturopathic approach to her disease, and of CCVSI by clicking here.
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