Dans Le Noir

Tonight one of Josh's mystery Paris surprises was revealed! We ate dinner in a restaurant that was pitch black inside. PITCH BLACK. You could not see a thing. Not the table, your food, your glass, the person next to you, your waitor....nothing. It was tres cool and quite an experience.

Let me elaborate.....
It's called "Dans Le Noir" (In the Dark) and it is a concept created in 2004 to both support the Foundation for blind people, and to open up your sense of taste in a new way. Without your greatest sense -sight - the way you taste things is completely different and more intense. All the waitors and waitresses are blind, and the place is literally so dark you cannot see your hand in front of you, and your eyes do not adjust at all throughout the whole dinner. You enter first into a little, lit, room where they make you lock up everything that has light (watch, cel phone, camera) and then you pick how many courses you want. You have no idea what you're going to be eating, you just choose how much you want to eat. When your table is ready, you get in a line and are lead into the restaurant by your blind leader.

It was literally crazy. We walked through the curtain and had to just follow the woman leading my hand through the darkness until we arrived at our table, which we couldn't see, to the chair - which you had to feel for and sit yourself in. Once we sat, we felt around for our silverware and cups, and waited for our food to come. It was Josh, his good friend Rune, and myself. And the other strangers at the table, who we spoke with but didn't see. It's really odd when you can only talk to someone but not see them. You can't tell their reaction, if they're paying attention, if their itching their face. It is really crazy to have your sight gone, but everything else continues as normal. I must note - I made an excellent joke of "this restaurant would be a great place for a blind date". I get it from my dad.

When the food starting arrving things got tough, and very interesting. Imagine your plate in front of you, full of food you don't know, and you can't see a thing. Using a fork and knife was really difficult, since you needed your hands to find your plate and where the food was on the plate. So I copied Josh and used a hand/fork combo in order to eat. The food was really amazingly delicious. We got the menu with entree, plat, dessert, so it was 3 mystery courses. I had the following ideas going through my mind during each....
1 - some delicious carroty-tasting cold thing. some taste I can't place...what is that taste?? oniony but not - driving me nuts that I can't place it. Fruity-type warm thing stuffed with cheese. Mmmmm
2 - some type of fish in a tangy sauce. some glob of cripsy, warm, and gooey potato-like thing. (Loving that) Something I tried to bite, but it felt rubbery and weirded me out a bit. Thinking it could be some type of tentacle? Don't attempt to eat that.
3 - Apple (?) crumble thing. Found some type of fruit sorbet too that's amazing. Can't place the flavor. Key lime tart-type thing. Tarte thing is amazing. Want more tarte thing.

In addition, just imagine pouring yourself a glass of water, in the pitch black! It was really such a cool experience, and such a good dinner! It is crazy to be eating something, and you know that you know the taste, but you can't place it. And the taste of eveything is megafied because your greatest sense is gone.

When everything was finished, and we were lead out, we waited for our eyes to adjust and then they show and tell you what you ate. Which is really fun because then you go "ohhhhhhh it was shallots!" and so on. And it's when you realize you have spilled some food on the front of your dress. And your boyfriend laughs at you for being a messy eater.

All in all, it was such a cool experience and unique thing to do. Leave it to Josh to plan wonderful surprises like this one! They also have locations in London, Bruxelles, and San Francisco, so if your near - I would totally reccomend going! It's eating out, in a whole new light.