Diner in the Dark
I just came back from ctaste. It’s a small restaurant, on the Amsteldijk, De Pijp, in Amsterdam. My good friend Remco B. had his birthday dinner there (conveniently, his birthday is also my birthday.)
You are placed in a pitch black room, and you are served a three course meal, by visually impaired people. They can find their way around in the dark — you can’t. It’s literally pitch black; if you wave your hand just in front of your eyes, you can’t see it. We tried.
At first it’s quite strange, almost uncomfortable. I guess that’s your body getting used to the whole no-light scenario. Once you’ve gotten used to it though, it’s a very cool experience! The lack of visual aid, coerces you into really tasting things more than you are used to — a pleasant experience to sit through when you are being served a decent course.
I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars as the experience was unique, alas the food wasn’t mind blowing.
Oh, and to our delight, as the waiter kindly pointed out before the dining began, the menu was very non-fearfactor. Thank God.
Cool, and congrats on the birthday! You must be an old and angry man by now.
I tried something similar once, though it was more of a guided tour through a dark maze lead by a blind man. Something the Experimentarium of Copenhagen thought was funny, and guess what, it was actually. We had to touch all sorts of weird things (no, not that kind of weird) and try to guess what they were by beating on them with our hands thus making them make a sound. That or smell them. My god, potatoes really does not smell of anything but dirt.
Anyway, in the end we had a cop of coffee and a piece of pie which I had to purchase from a blind woman and walk to my table with, in the dark. Goes without saying that was a scary experience. Thank god no one touched my private parts.
I must go there when I’m going to visit Amsterdam. Sounds like fun.