Blind tasting...

bonkey

I had one of the most unique eating experiences of my life in Cologne last Thursday. Thought some of you might be interested in reading about it...

My wife and I were brought to dinner by friends of ours (as a wedding present) to a place called "Unsicht Bar". If you don't speak German, "unsichtbar" in German can translate as "unseen".

Anyway...here's the deal. You get presented at the entrance with a set of about 5 menus. They're a bit odd in that they give vague descriptions of the various courses rather than a clear description, and the only thing thats really made clear is the meat for the main couse (and if you choose the surprise menu, you don't even get that).

So, my wife and I both chose the lamb menu, and our friends both took the surprise menu. We picked our first round of drinks as well, then headed to the actual dining room.

The dining room is entered via a small ante-room where you are met by your waiter. The waiter is blind. He asks everyone to make sure their mobiles are off, their watches are removed, as well as anything else which could generate light. He then turns off the lights and the room is plunged into darkness. Complete darkness.

The waiter then opened the door to the dining room, which is *also* in complete darkness. He led us to our table, seated us, explained some stuff we needed to take care about, then off it all went. In complete darkness, in case you've forgotten.

It was an incredible experience. From the simple things like trying to figure out the room from the sounds we could hear, to the trials of getting served, to figuring out what was on the plate and where it was....everything was somehow alien without the use of sight. We couldn't even keep track of how long we were in there...when we asked the waiter after the main course, he asked us for a guess. Our guesses ranged from 75 mins to 95 mins....when in reality it was more like 150 mins.

If you ever get the chance to go to somewhere like this (there's an affiliate in Berlin, and a similar setup called Blindekuh in Zurich that I know of) then I really encourage you to take it.

fits

I'd read about those restaurants... it sounds really interesting.

Was the food fantastic? And was the taste experience intensified because of the sight deprivation?

bonkey

The food was very good. I'd stop short of saying fantastic, but thats perhaps because they have to make certain allowances for us non-blind blind guests...nothing too hot, nothing too messy...etc.

Taste was certainly intensified...but not just taste. Texture too played a role that I rarely notice otherwise. Also, preconceptions of "thats X, I don't like X" don't exist until after you've eaten and identified something...and even then it doesn't always hold.

I ate some stuff that I could identify as diced mushrooms in a creamy sauce....but it wasn't till I saw the menu afterwards that I found out they're a type of 'shroom I usually wouldn't touch because I neither like the taste nor the texture.

Galadriel

I went to one in Berlin, it was also amazing, the fact your eyes never adjust to the darkness as there is no light whatsoever, I had the 'surprise menu' only found out afterwards I had crocodile..haha...I thought it was beef.

BaZmO*

When did you put yours car keys in a bowl? At the beginning or at the end?