The Northwest is a weird, weird place. It's how things were meant to be up here; normalcy is highly discouraged in every aspect of life. Different cities love to fly their freak flag in different ways, however, and Tacoma embraces its inner crazy in a few different ways. If you really want to see how wonderfully bizarre this city can get, consider visiting the Zodiac Supper Club.

Now, that's not to say this downtown restaurant is a joke by any means. Zodiac Supper Club is odd in the best possible way, and it all starts with how the food is prepared: It isn't. You actually cook your own entrées on a giant communal grill. Dana Claar-Verellen, the owner of Zodiac, said she was inspired to use this unique system by the many similar restaurants she frequented growing up in San Diego.

"Places like this have existed in San Diego for a long time, like since the thirties or fifties," Claar-Verellen said. "There's a lot of styles of these ‘supper clubs' in existence in San Diego, and a couple were favorites of mine to hang out in, like the Turf Club."

It also helps that Claar-Verellen knows her way around a restaurant; her family has owned bars for generations in San Diego, from her grandparents owning The Forty-Niner in downtown, to her great-aunt running The New Bamboo near the beach.

Another interesting aspect of Zodiac is the design: Many of the walls are painted with a very bold pink, and tacky decorations are scattered throughout, from old-school lamps and tinsel hanging from the ceiling to black-and-white B-movies being played on a continuous loop. Claar-Verellen said that she's always had a love of kitsch, and felt compelled to use it in the design of her bar.

"I might have a bit of hoarder in my blood, but I'm just a collector, and I love vintage stuff. I just love weird stuff, and the weirder things in life, and it's nice to have an outlet for it," Claar-Verellen said, laughing.

Claar-Verellen insists that the best part about Zodiac is how it can really bring out the extrovert in anyone, and adds a social aspect to the proceedings.

"We really like the sense of community that it instills when you're standing around the grill with a bunch of strangers, and it kind of gets you out of your box, your comfort zone a bit," Claar-Verellen said. "You get to hang out with people you wouldn't normally hang out with otherwise."

Zodiac Supper Club, 4 p.m.-midnight Tue-Thurs, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. weekends, closed Monday, 745 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.327.1891