A blog by Jorge Garcia.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Dining in the Dark

Last week we went to
for their Dining in the Dark event they do every Monday.

We were given blindfolds
and lead into the dining room.
They brought us five courses complete with pairings and we smelled and tasted them all without seeing any of them until the entire meal was over.
The whole experience was a lot of fun and the food was excellent. I decided to be safe and wear my napkin
and it looked like it was a good idea.
Although they give you silverware to use you find yourself using your fingers more and more. Good thing they gave us hot towels at the end.

48 comments:

Jules said...

What an awesome idea! Good thing you wore that napkin. I know I'd get food all over myself in that situation. Which food did you like best? Were you able to guess what everything was?

Julie Weiss said...

I saw the photo of all the food--and I don't even want to ask what that "dish" was on the bottom of the photo--LOL!

UrbanExpressions said...

Saw this on the Travel Channel. Lotta trust goes into dining in the dark. Looks like fun though.

Unknown said...

Woa, that seems both like a really good and fun idea, and just a little bit scary! I don't know if I would have the guts to try it, but judging for the pictures, it was really good.

Regards!

PJ said...

I have always wanted to try this, but more than that I have always wanted to do this to a group of friends who come for dinner

Benny said...

Love those experiences. I hope it was at least delicious.

James Hernandez said...

Jorge,

The top picture looks like a couple of bandits about to rob a train! The bottom picture reminds me of my shirts after a meal - geez I have to use a napkin! Thanks Jorge what a great idea.

Sarah said...

That looks so awesome!!!! I want to try that! It looks like a really cool experience.

niku said...

This sounds like something fun to try at home....

Sarah said...

what did the courses end up consisting of?

Lynn Faruque said...

That looks like fun!!

Ok, I watched this week's episode again, and I have to say that seeing and hearing Hugo speaking Spanish, that was kinda sexy.

You and Nestor did a fantastic job of that one.

Tara said...

Fun! There's a place like this in Quebec I really want to try out

Corvus said...

That looks like a lot of fun. I'd inevitably end up flinging food everywhere, I think. I mean, I tend to have a hard enough time being neat when I can see.

Now if they blindfolded me, then expected me to eat with chopsticks, that would be pure entertainment. For everyone else.

Robin said...

Wow - what a neat idea! I've never heard of such a thing. Very cool. It sure is a great way to get people to try everything!

IslandPearl said...

I've read about it -- but I don't think I could do it at gunpoint.

Don't mind the dark but blindfolds really wig me out (don't ask...)

korawrsully. said...

Hahaha that looks funny!
But isnt it hard to eat without seeing anything? Especially with cutlery?

Kevin said...

That looks like fun!

crunchyveganwifelife said...

That sounds like the CSI episode where they did dine in the dark...look out!

Tales of Whimsy said...

How cool and fun. I have always wanted to try this.

mrs.mao said...

OK, so what exactly did you eat? I'm not sure I could do that. How was the food?

erin e flynn said...

haha, that sounds like a fun idea, but I bet I would be a complete mess after that!

JohnLeMay said...

How was the food?

Evonne said...

Next time you are in LA, San Fran, or San Diego, try Opaque. That is in TOTAL darkness.
I am fairly sure the wait staff are blind.

Barbara said...

Looks like (messy) fun! But who was taking the pictures?

Unknown said...

So much fun! I wonder if there's a restaurant that will do that in Austin???

yellowdoggranny said...

wow..what fun that must have been. I'm not sure I'd be happy with that arrangement..my friends are too weird...someone would slip pigs feet or kidneys on my plate ..

Miss Heather said...

That's SO cool! :)

Mary Alice at Charm City Cakes (from Ace of Cakes) wants you and the cast of Lost to come to Baltimore for their 100th episode... didn't know if you saw that on their blog. I think you should do it!!!

Their blog link is http://www.charmcitycakes.com/blog... they came to Hawaii for you! You should go to Baltimore for SURE! :)

Anonymous said...

Great i want to do that !

Becky said...

Dining in the dark? Ooooh, how fun. I wonder if they have anything like that in Atlanta? I'll have to remember to wear my napkin. Even without being blindfolded, I'm one of those people who always leaves the table with stains on my frontage. Ha!

Alisha Rene' said...

num num num num numnumnumnum - looks FUN!!!

tomski said...

Formaggio is great. We ate at the wine bar a few weeks ago, and he staff was super friendly. I didn't know about the "Dining in the Dark", or that they had another restaurant. At the Formaggio wine bar we had almost the same experience though, since the lighting was so dim. Excellent food. I enjoyed the KOBE Burger Panini.

Jamy said...

That looks like a lot of fun to me. I wish some place around here did something like that. I wonder if I could coerce some restaurant here to do that? Hmmm...

Unknown said...

That looks like a lot of fun. Did things taste better or more intense without sight?

Erin said...

Wow, I don't think I could've been that adventurous! The curse of a picky eater... But it does look like a lot of fun!

Shannon said...

Neat. I've never heard of that before, but it sounds really fun!

Celeste said...

My bosses went to Poland in January (they might open an office there to recruit lifeguads) and they went to a restaurant that WAS pitch black. The waiters and waitresses wear night vision goggles and you can see them by a blinking light on their glasses. You tell them which level of adventourous you are and they bring you out food you have no idea what it is! (two of my coworkers ate testicles of some animal!)

If you have to go to the bathroom the waiter will escort you there etc. So this seems a bit similar to that!

Unknown said...

If you were blindfolded...how did you know when you were done? And would you know if someone were...say, sneaking an extra forkfull off your plate?

Suz said...

That looks like SO much fun! I'd never heard of it before - thanks for our next Date Night idea. :)

ReNaTo UêGa said...

Oooh nice! I imagine that has been deliciously funny. =)

cathescomicz said...

reminds me of the stuff in haunted houses - peeled grapes, spaghetti, and sushi- I used to think Sushi was made up by people who made haunted houses cos there was NO way I'd eat eel... (but then loved it...)

Anna Weaver Lopiccolo said...

That bottom dish was a delicious chocolate mousse with two mini churros. (I had the unexpected pleasure of dining in the dark with a friend that night too.)

~Karen~ said...

I think this would be just too scary of an experience for me. You guys are waaaay brave!

James said...

I've been known on ocassion to employ that same dining technique at the white castle. It helps. Sorta.

Eugen Caitaz said...

It's interesting idea! This Dark bar is placed in Hawaii. think that they got very much money for this phenomenal idea... :)

VivaLaZimmer Podcast said...

Ive seen this before and always wanted to try it.

Looks good to me, now i have to find a place

Nakiya @ Taste of Baltimore said...

wow that looks like it would be so much fun!!!! A cool group experience too!

Also - perhaps you can come to Baltimore later :)

Elysium said...

What a great Idea! Wish we had a restaurant here that did this...but hey it's a great concept for an at home diner party!

When my daughter was younger (10-12)she would to go to the store (w/an adult) buy wrapped food items, bring them home and i had to feel them to guess what they were...i always got them exactly right-i think it's the last time i truly amazed her :)

Karamasov said...

Hi Jorge
if you liked the experience and if ever you are in Zurich, Switzerland, you might want to check out the "Blinde Kuh" (blind cow). The restaurant is located in a former chapel and the inside is pitchblack. All the waiters are blind (or visually impaired) themselves and it is an interesting experience how naturally they move around in the dark while you yourself feel completely lost (no pun intended ;-)
All the best from Switzerland
Peter