Bonjour Mes Amis!: Dans Le Noir

So...dinner. Well, Dans Le Noir is a restaurant that means In The Black. So you eat in the black. The COMPLETE dark. No light whatsoever. When I mean no light, I mean you know how when your eyes get adjusted to darkness...well they can't get adjusted. The catch is, you waiters and waitresses are blind. So, you get there and sit in the bar, which has light. (the only people who are blind are the servers...not the bartenders and cooks) They explain the concept of the restaurant to you which is when you lose one sense, the rest are more intensified. So, you choose your menu before you go in. Your first decision is either starter+entree or entree+dinner OR starter+dinner+dessert. (it was an extra 9 euros for dessert!) Then wine, beer and soft drinks are extra also. You then have a choice of choosing off the menu or the surprise menu. Well we all felt we should go for it, so we all did the surprise menu. They tell you to choose that option because it gives you the full effect of the restaurant because you really have to use your taste buds. Then they so graciously ask if anyone has food allergies or restrictions. I said no meat. So did a few other people along with a bunch of people who said different restrictions. Anyway, our reservation was for 10 pm, but with a group of 12, people didn't show up on time and we didn't get sat til 11. They also tell u to use the bathroom before you go in to not ruin your experience. They also make you put EVERYTHING in a locker. Purse, jacket, watch (incase it has a light) cellphone...EVERYTHING! Well it was time to get seated and they tell you to hold onto the person infront of you. When you enter it is so pitch black you cant help but be in shock. My heart started pounding cause I really couldn't see ANYTHING and all i wanted was for my eyes to get adjusted and they wouldnt. So i sat down and i felt around for my fork and knife and napkin. I put the napkin on my lap. Mind you, a blind woman, Olivia, led us to our table. Luckily she spoke a lot of english! Well, then we waited quite a while for our first dish, but when we recieved it, she tapped each of us on the back and asked if we recieved a plate yet and said she was placing it infront of us. So, along with everyone else we decided we couldn't really use utensils so we pretty much ate with our hands. I never used my knife once the entire night! And since no one could see you, no one knew if you had food on your face or not! So i didn't care if I looked foolish or not! I'm not going to tell you the food because if you ever go, i dont know if the surprise menu is always the same...so if you care to know then you can email me ;) Anyway, when the wine came the ONLY way to pour was for someone to stick their finger in the glass to see how high they poured. Well it still didn't work, so I got red wine on my white shirt. (it came out today) So when we finished the first course, Olivia came to ask if we were finished and I replied Oui and she said she was going to take my plate and she did. Then we waited forever. Whether my eyes were opened or closed, i couldn't tell a difference. I was very quiet the entire meal. They were actually shushing us to be quite cause with a large group we were a little loud. But the whole experience is supposed to be calming and with us (some of us drunk...not me) it's hard to be quiet. So i stayed to myself trying to take in the experience. One girl from our table left the room because she drank too much before she came so I don't know if she was clausterphobic or nauseous. She eventually came back. However, when you want to leave you have to call your server. You can't go out alone. Anyway, the next course came and again I had to eat with my hands. I felt mostly that I was eating mush anyway :) Oh, and the food was not hot. I know the concept behind that is because they don't want anyone burning themselves, but it made the food taste mediocre. It was funny because you had a bunch of culinary students making jokes about "i wonder if they care about presentation here!" Anyway, they removed that plate, and i think I actually fell asleep before dessert came. But I said to myself, this is a real "eye opening experience" then i chuckled. But seriously, you don't appreciate the senses you have until you REALLY lose them. I COULD NOT SEE! Very frustrating! All night i was trying to open my eyes, but they were open. Oh, and someone in our group brought his cell phone in with him so everyonce in a while he would open it. Most of you know me...that's the type of thing that bothers me...i just thought it ruined the experience. Anyway...we got dessert and it depressed me. Not good. I was ready to leave. Not because I didn't LOVE the experience, but the food was bad. So a few of my friends bravely left themselves with the cellphone dude, and actually got reprimanded. But we waited for Olivia. When we left, I couldn't see very well in the light but it was weird being in reality. I didn't wear my glasses that night because i knew I wouldn't need them, but when I got into light I couldn't focus at all. It was strange. Anyway, I'd go back for the experience in a smaller group and maybe order off the menu. However, the food was crap. But it was a fun evening with a great group of people and it was worth staying out til 3 am :) Any questions...send them my way!