Last Tuesday I attended the Foundation Fighting Blindness annual gala funding raising dinner. It’s one of my pro-bono projects, but is also a cause close to my heart since my grandma has macular degeneration. Every year, the Foundation hosts this event, which is your typical gala filled with schmoozing, raising money for a cause, dinner in ballroom, tear-jerker videos and moving stories. What’s not so typical about it is that the main course is served completely in the dark. I mean pitch black. You can’t see a thing. This sensory experience allows the diners to empathize with people with vision problems. Think of how challenging it is just to eat a simple meal, let alone live your everyday life with little or no vision. It was really an eye-opener! (Ok, maybe this a bad joke here).
I have to admit I’ve done this before, so I was a bit prepared. There’s a restaurant here called Opaque, which serves the entire meal in the dark. It’s a very unique experience and I would recommend it. It’s somewhat expensive and the food is not that great, but you don’t go for the food. The cool thing about it is that all the waiters are visually impaired. You really get to know them and learn a lot about their hopes and struggles. Dinner in the Dark event uses waiters from Opaque. Our waiter was David. He was legally blind, talked about his childhood in New Mexico and his love of the mountains. He was a very nice guy with a calm, almost soothing demeanor.
The first course, a salad, was served in the light. As we finished the salad, we prepared for the darkness by strategically placing the wine bottles right in front of us. After the 30-second warning, BOOM! It was pitch black. The room immediately filled with even more chatter. I think it got louder because people tend to over-compensate on one sense when one is missing.
As the food was placed in front of me I knew I was in trouble. Beef. My nose knows. I had a feeling and contemplated asking for the vegetarian plate, but thought it wouldn’t be as fun. I mean you pretty much know what you’re getting on a veg plate. Since I don’t eat beef, no worries, I’ll just work my way around whatever beef product this was. I just went for it and stabbed my fork into the food. First bite: the most delicious, cheesy bit of risotto. It was perfectly cooked and lucky for me there were gallons of it. I scooped up all that risotto, all around the beef, which turned out to be a brisket. I did end up getting a few bites and it was actually tasty! Despite the fact that I have not regularly eaten beef for 14 years, I sometimes enjoy the taste. I didn’t want to risk it though, and continued to eat around it. Next few bites, hmmm…what’s this? Easy – a carrot! You can’t mistake this shape. Next, bok choy.
At some point I threw manners to the wind and just used my hands. It was a lot easier. When you put your fork down, it was a bit challenging to find it. However, I always knew exactly where my wine glass was (obvi). We did manage one pour very successfully.
The lights slowly went back on. As my eyes readjusted, I found a clean plate minus a hunk of beef. All in all it was a great night. I now have a greater appreciation for what visually impaired people go through and I hope my fellow readers will have the chance to dine in the dark someday too. Props to Grandma Ethel who dines in the dark every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment