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A few weeks ago, some friends of mine hosted a dinner served completely in the dark. They were inspired after hearing about Dans le Noir (“In the Dark”) a restaurant in Paris where diners are served by a blind wait staff in a pitch-black room.There are actually quite a few restaurants like this throughout the world. There’s the Dunkelrestaurant-Berlin and the Unsicht-Bar in Cologne, Germany.
There’s also the The Blind Cow in Zurich, Switzerland and Black Out in Melbourne, Australia. The wait staff at Black Out are not blind, however. They wear night-vision goggles.
So what’s the point of groping around for your food? Well, aside from another good excuse to grope, the idea is that being deprived of one sense will heighten your other senses and possibly enhance your dining experience.
From my dinner the other night, I definitely found that the textures of things seemed more intense. I don’t know if the tastes were any more defined, as there was always an initial sense of confusion upon the first few bites.
Also, not being able to see your dining companions seems to make people unsure of how far apart they are. This made people seem to talk a bit louder if they weren’t talking to the person to their immediate right or left.
Has anyone tried any of the restaurants mentioned above? Would you do it again?
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10-10-2005 @5:07PM Marc said... I haven't tried it because there aren't any such dinners in the SF Bay Area, but it sounds intriguing. Dark dinners started in L.A. in July, with an extensive L.A. Times review (http://www.calendarlive.com/dining/cl-fo-journal27jul27,1,7033029.story?coll=la-headlines-food) and a segment on the KCRW Good Food program (http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=gf&air_date=7/16/05&tmplt_type=Show also available through iTunes).
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10-11-2005 @2:32AM Dmnkly said... It sounds as though these restaurants involve typical dishes that involve eating with utensils. I'm curious... though blind people are, of course, quite capable of feeding themselves, wouldn't the learning curve involved be prohibitively steep for those who are only blinded for one meal? Wouldn't trying to figure out how to get the food in your mouth be at least as distracting as whatever you would be looking at if you could see?
It's a neat idea... I'm just having trouble imagining how it would work on a practical level and would be extremely curious to hear about those aspects from people who have partaken.
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10-11-2005 @11:50AM tr said... i first heard of these restaurants from my professor, who is from Switzerland. quite an interesting idea.
and #2, haven't you ever tried to eat food while closing you eyes? you'd be surprised, you can do it very easily. i mean, when you eat, you don't concentrate and stare at the food, as you try to put it in your mouth, do you?
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10-11-2005 @2:33PM Dmnkly said... Are you kidding?
If I'm distracted by conversation, I miss my mouth regularly :-)
Joking, of course, but while I'm not always staring at my food as I eat it, I think the value of either peripheral vision or even a split second direct glance just to get the lay of the land can't be undervalued. Of course, I'd imagine it depends on the food a lot, too. Fish sticks aren't going to be terribly difficult, but I think of complicated salads where you have funky leaves sticking every which way and potentially chunks of meat or croutons or what have you... that's a difficult foodstuff to eat without looking at. Or any kind of long pasta, especially if done properly such that it wants to fight staying curled up on your fork. And I could see somebody happily finishing their pork chop only to realize that they completely missed the mashed sweet potatoes. I guess I just imagine that the restaurant would really have to design the menu very carefully.
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10-12-2005 @12:23PM Dulce said... Dmnkly, I have one response: proprioception (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception). Even with your eyes closed, you can still find your nose with your index finger ... it's just takes a little more concentration (although a few drinks makes it even more challenging). On the plus side, if you missed your mouth with the funky leaves, no one could see the salad dressing all over your face. I think I'll give this one a miss ... the visual experience is part of the pleasure of a good meal.
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