Dark Dining Projects
Guest Book
If you have attended a Dark Dining Projects event, please tell us about your experience.
Some guest reactions:
It was marvelous. It felt like 'water for chocolate' in the way food can alter consciousness. I felt such a sense of well-being. Nowhere to go, nothing to see. The door was open nearby and we had a soft cool breeze on us, with occasional street chatter and the room chatter on the other side. The food was exquisite and surprisingly unidentifiable. It’s as if I left the category part of my mind at the door. The music was amazing, well matched and well timed. The voice of both were unadulterated, pure. The servers were clear and impeccable, supportive. And thank you for the birthday song. -- Roz Driscoll
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Trying to explain this experience to my friends, co-workers and family without saying "Amazing" was extremely hard lol. I really enjoyed the blind fold experience, the music and as well the GREAT food! The sensual touches were a bit weird but it actually is one of the things I remember the most but won't tell people about. I enjoyed trying to guess the food and most of all EATING WITH MY FINGERS! Although I have nothing but great things to say about my experience, I have to say I do have a few cons. I would have liked to have seen the people doing the serving and not just hearing their voices. The amazing sax player I would have enjoyed meeting as well as the chef of the night. A suggestion I would make is maybe having people make noises throughout the dinner and not only during the sax performance. Its a good conversation piece and as well just darn fun trying to guess what the noise is. Again, I have nothing but positive things to say about your event and will be joining again with more people. -- Sam Davis
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I enjoyed it immensely and so did my friend. I noticed the clinking of the ice in the water pitcher more than I ever had prior to this when I could see. The sax was the best. I loved hearing it everywhere in the room but when she was right there next to me, it was unbelievably exciting. You just had to move with the music. I guess that's why we close our eyes while listening to certain music anyway. -- Renie Morris
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My daughter and I had a great time together at dark dining. As we were discussing it the next day, it occurred to me that it is rare to get such an adrenaline rush from an experience without it being risky or dangerous in some way. It is a great example of creatively satisfying the need for risk taking and I wonder how teenagers who are filled with that need would respond to it. Our experience has continued to affect my perceptions of other activities. It’s shifted my emphasis on sight to include my other senses more. I’m more aware of how quiet or loud a certain place is or when eating, that I would never be able to recognize a certain food if my eyes were closed. It is a great example of mindfulness meditation. -- Carolyn Cohen
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I was just thinking about dark dining as I drifted off to sleep last night. As a dancer, I found the experience so enriching and so connected to training I've been doing in Contact Improvisation and Body Mind Centering. Though your choreographed performances challenge the assumption that dance is a "visual art," most dance performance is made to be seen. But, as we have discovered in our field 20?40?60? 80? hundreds of? thousands of? years, a dance viewer's kinesthetic empathy is not just visual, its effected by all types of senses. Or, at least, it's extremely sensitive to visual cues that indicate the sensory and imaginatory experience of the performer. As dancers, we should have access to all of our senses to create full and rich experiences for ourselves and our audiences.
Experiences like the one you gave me at dark dining give deep and surprising information about the range and detail of perceptions available in any given experience. This has already changed the way I think about my dance experiences. I wish more dancers could afford to experience your dark dining events (even though I know they are a great deal, i think $100 is prohibitive for many in our field). . . . thank you for a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. -- Rachel
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Overall, loved the evening.
Was with my girlfriend, Lisa, and we both had a delightful time.
Sensory feelings: Holding Lisa's hand was a whole new experience. That's usually such a routine, but in the "dark" gave it a very renewed sense of purpose.
We also had an excellent encounter with the seafood soup appetizer. The waiter only mentioned the plates (with the oyster each) when he brought everything, so I happened upon the hot water glass very accidentally. The first thing I asked was whether it was a candle or not. We talked it out and decided it was probably edible when i put my hand over the top of the glass and didn't feel any intense heat. That was a small little moment, but probably my favorite moment from the whole evening. It exemplified how much the event amplified and brought renewed focus every little aspect of dinner. And since the dinner was delicious, the amplified feelings were all good ones. -- Alex Campbell
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. . . a unique treat! As far as dining experiences go, this is certainly the most entertaining and novel experience of them all. My girlfriend and I definitely became less inhibited and a lot more in tune with ourselves through physical contact. I remember when I visited Shakespeare’s Globe in London; on the tour, a performance was taking place on stage. I could barely hear it and the tour guide explained that, in those days, the sense of hearing was a lot more acute. It’s quite evident that in our visual society when we put on a blindfold, the other 3 senses are pleasantly awakened and are much more powerful. We enjoyed the various sounds and performances and thought the 4 types of wine were exceptionally chosen. This experience is very romantic and sensual and I have recommended it to my friends. -- Stan Brenner
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. . . am an artist myself and I understand the importance of our senses. I must tell you that this was the greatest eating experience I have ever had! I felt like we were all on another planet. It was so great! I feel like it should be required as a human being to experience dark dining once a week to understand just how unique we are as a race and to forget about all of the crap that we are fed visually on a daily basis by the powers that be. When people ask me about it, I have no words, just a big smile and an an urgent message to them that they have to do this. Everything about it was amazing! I am a huge fan of the 'fondling' especially. That was so nice! The sounds were so interesting as well. I would suggest dancing, I think that would be super fun. I couldn't get over how grounded I felt and how naturally high I became. . . . -- Grant Wiley
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[About Valentine’s Day Dark Dining at the Science Gallery of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland]
I'm loaded with good Irish Catholic guilt that this has taken me a month to send to you. I was one of the lucky Dublin Dark Diners on Valentine's Day. My husband and I had a truly lovely time. My feedback is: more illicit, mysterious contact! We both thought the fleeting shoulder rubs and caressing was tantalizing. It really enhanced the romantic mood of the evening, and was a feature that you'd never encounter -- in a legitimate, purposeful, sanctioned, way -- while dining in a restaurant or at a dinner party in a friend's home. It was erotic and fun. In less subtle hands, the close physical contact could have been tacky. In the hands of you and your people, it wasn't tacky at all. It was, in fact, perfect.
The food was delicious, well-chosen, and extremely well executed, as was the service. Being a restaurant consultant and former cafe owner, I am keenly aware what a huge accomplishment this is. When recollecting my fond memories of that night, I continue to scratch my head in wonder and awe that you can pull this off in multiple venues profitably. Every new place has its own logistical learning curve. You managed to shield your clients from the inevitable kinks you must have encountered in the Trinity venue. Kudos to you and your cohorts! Very impressive!
You said a lot of interesting things to us during your interludes that evening. Your message is fascinating. But your delivery is academic. I say this with true affection: I love academics. I am married to one. But I found a disconnect between your words and your ways when you spoke to us as a group (although not when you spoke to me individually.) Not seeing your face, your eyes, your mouth I suppose detracts from your charm. But if, like the musicians, you walked around the room, and your voice was thrown about, and diners had to sense where your sound was coming from, and turn their heads to find your words, your delivery might better match the evening's atmosphere. I don't know, just a thought. [Dana’s note: Since we were in a science museum, I periodically offered up accurate yet tongue-in cheek scientific asides. Guess my act was unintentionally convincing.]
Dark Dining was a wonderful experience that I will continue to recount and recommend to friends. I am American (married to an Irishman) and we are moving back to the US in July. Happily, this will increase the odds that I will find another opportunity to participate in one of your events!
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Such a perfect night Dana... My friend Yaron and I attended your Dark Dining at Camaje last Friday. It was our second time with you and we enjoyed it so! We are frequent patrons of Camaje and so love Abby's food; in your setting it doubles the enjoyment. The artists you have are remarkable- they are my favorite part of the evenings. I am sending a few photos from both of our dinners with you... we hope you like them.. You are so right when you said taking photographs without being able to see yields great results. -- Leila Nelson and Yaron Schmid
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[About Dark Dining Projects' performance-installation, "Season"]
Thank you for a great evening. Some elements that struck me:
1. The first 5 minutes when I talked to myself about trusting the situation and the people running the show. I was surprised that I had a bit of initial anxiety but soon became too engrossed in the experience to keep feeling anxious.
2. I really liked relating with people while they and I were blindfolded. For me it removed one veil or layer of self-consciousness that I always feel but normally don't think about. This experience made me reflect on that veil through relief at its absence.
3. I have enjoyed contemplating the creative opportunities this medium provides you as the artist. It would seem to have almost endless possibilities.
4. For me the food experience was secondary or tertiary. It was much more about the difference in how I felt socially and within my own skin. I felt more of my own essence. -- Audrey Higbee
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[About Dark Dining Projects' performance-installation, "Season"]
I was a little leery of it beforehand; my partner, who knows you, convinced me to go because she said you'd put on a quality piece of work ... But in the end entirely won over by the experience. I would call it 'a return to the senses' in a world when we are continually baited visually and verbally -- To return to smell, touch, taste, non-verbal sound and no doubt "the 6th" -- with integrity -- that is, there was nothing about the experience that was duplicitous or manipulative – was greatly relieving to the psyche. It was a kind of reversion to an infant state (depending on others, not knowing what's to come, what you are eating, what the sounds are, being ministered to -- ) but consciously and in an aesthetic and trustworthy universe. In that way it transported us nearly to another realm or at least gave us a good break from the one we have created, for the most part, in our lives.
The "Season" theme in bringing us back to the natural world was a part of that. Andy Goldsworthy meets Alice Waters???(!) ( I am in the publishing business, we are always coming up with comparisons -- difficult when the work, like this, is hard to "peg" to anything that currently exists.) But this is what art and the imagination is, or should be, for me. So it was a good reminder, good therapy, and a tonic opening of consciousness. I did appreciate the theatrical elements in Amherst -- wonder if you will develop that, I don't know if the in-restaurant experience would be as transporting. But I'll try it, if I can, when I'm in New York. -- Carole DeSanti
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[About Dark Dining Projects' performance-installation, "Season"]
I really loved the whole experience and was surprised my two teens did as well. They're hard to impress and only went because it was my birthday present. Personally I would have like it to be a bit longer with perhaps some more kind of interactive elements between performers and diners--games or improv, q and a maybe of some type.
The dance at the end was delightful and I think it would be possible to do some group movement work or other interactive component with people, even with the blindfolds. I used to be an Outward Bound instructor and one of our most powerful initiatives was taking the whole group blindfolded in the middle of the night through a big crack in a granite cliff, so I know such things can be done. -- Ronald Meck
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[About Dark Dining Projects' performance-installation, "Season"]
So glad to receive your email. I had intended to get in touch with you about the Dark Dining experience. Wow! The experience was truly beyond words. I felt safe, even nurtured, on many levels. The sensory stimulation, even in the face of (no pun intended) visual deprivation, was subtle yet profound. The foods, from the local earth, were a sensory delight. I'm not sure my sense of taste was heightened as a consequence of being "blindfolded" but I know for sure that my sense of touch was. I was surprised by my ability to readily locate items, utensils, cups and glasses -- and food! Also, my sense of hearing was heightened -- even to the silences.
I confess to giving into a bit of greediness during the foraging scene(?). Each little bundle was like an exquisite reward for a job well done, success, in gathering nourishment. Very exciting to find food-lets in unexpected places. But the goodies were tiny little bundles and I found myself wanting to gobble them down and get on to more. And people around me kept finding strawberries (or at least they were saying that) and I never did find one. The foraging experience really brought out the beastie in me :-))
What a novel experience, from the outside hand washing to the gentleness of all of the assistants with whom we interacted during the dining, the respectfulness and kindness they showed us -- just wonderful. I think most importantly, though, was the sense of safety and security that was created and sustained throughout the event which made it possible to truly savor exquisite food, conversation, and camaraderie, in a totally unfamiliar context (that still remains a mystery). So much is (delightfully) left to the imagination, the mind's eye. -- Adrianne Andrews
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Danny and I had a GREAT time last Saturday during our dark dining experience. It was truly a sensual experience and I ate foods I normally wouldn't have and liked them! The sing along was great! And it was so much fun to see how people's inhibitions came down knowing no one could see them! Attached are the pictures we took - please feel free to use them! -- Chandra Claypool
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I had a great time at the Dark Dining Project. It went above and beyond all my expectations. I came in to work today and told all my co-workers and friends. I would love to do it again. My boyfriend loved it as well. . . .awesome experience. -- Tanisha Barnes
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[About Blindfolded Hand-feeding]
First let me start by saying that I'm a big, big fan of your work. I became acquainted with your work in two different and, I think, uncommon ways, given the format of most of your events. The first time was when I happened to run across the 2007 Bushwick Open Studios, and I just happened to go to your building, and you happened to be doing five-minute, blindfolded, hand-feedings. I signed up, and was really excited about the whole idea, ecstatic really. I couldn't believe this experience was hidden way in a warehouse in Bushwick! (My favorite part was when you violently jammed lettuce into my mouth. Truly.)
I signed up for your mailing list, and starting asking my boyfriend, Timothy, if he wanted to go to your dinners, but the ones we could go to were always sold out. I was always salivating for a full, blindfolded meal--the entire experience, as it was designed. Then, he surprised me for Christmas by booking one of your private hand-feedings. You came over to his apartment, and we listened, much to your chagrin and my delight, to a lot of bad Christmas Carols while you hand-fed us the most delectable little morsels. You had us dumbly uncork champagne and wine. It was exhilaratingly humbling and scary. We had a fantastic time with you, and it is definitely the best Christmas gift I have received to date. -- Erin Markey
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What an amazing experience! The sound aspect - starting off with the crystal glasses sound - was great. The tactile aspect of having people come around and touch participants was great. The four wines were great to show how much of that experience is visual. Something that might be interesting would be to include the sound of visual information translated into sound. You can set up a laptop and webcam with a free software download of “Seeing with Sound” (www.artificialvision.com/voice.exe)
That will make crazy sounds that are the translation of visual information into sound. As you turn the webcam around the room the sound will change to represent the visual image. Some blind people can use this system to navigate. -- Patrick Timony
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I found the evening extremely enjoyable but did have a few comments & suggestions. The food was wonderful, but I would have enjoyed more courses (each with a smaller amount of food). That would have allowed for more play and exploration of tastes & textures. While I realize the night is about the entire "dark dining experience," I would venture to guess that most people in attendance are foodies and thus, would want the food should be the focus of the evening.
That could have also allowed for some discussion on what people thought they were tasting. In fact, I would have enjoyed group discussion after each course. Even if the answers weren't given until after we all saw the menu at the end of the night, it would be interesting to hear what people thought they were eating and drinking (discussion of the wine would have been nice too). -- Scott Eagle
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We certainly enjoyed the event a lot, much more than we were expecting. It was a sensual joyride. For more details I did write about it in my blog http://www.westfieldblog.com/. I also posted about it in the Manhattan forum of chowhound, http://www.chowhound.com/topics/414346. My screen name there is foodfetish. I will see if I can convince one of the local restaurateurs in Westfield, NJ to do a dark dining event. – Stephan
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My husband Ron and I both thoroughly enjoyed our Dark Dining experience at Camaje Bistro. The food was delicious, it was fun trying to guess what we were eating, the staff was wonderful, the massage was spectacular, and the total experience was unforgettable. -- Arlene Silikovitz
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My date and I had a wonderful time Dark Dining at Camaje! It proved both an adventurous and romantic idea; a truly novel experience. -- Nate Richman
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. . . a fabulous time was had by all. The experience put me back in touch with my primordial self. Cyber-space be gone! Optical brain be calm. I reconnected with all my other senses through one great meal. -- Suzen
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[About a Private Hand-Fed Dark Dining]
What a sweet event, thanks for driving all the way up here, it was really terrific. After you [Dana] left people ended up staying in the dark . . . with their blindfolds on for a long time . . . [later] read some poetry with the candles flickering . . . talked about the food and the menu and many little moments there. They were really excited to take it [the experience] further or to imagine what it would look like to take it further . . . It really made such a terrific centerpiece for the weekend. Thank you for your work, your art, for being willing to come to pseudo-strangers and spreading your wares, delights, personhood and ideas . . . -- Amii LeGendre
[About a Private Party]
We went with family and friends as a last minute fill in for people who couldn’t make it. Although we were a little hesitant at first we didn’t want to let the organizer of the event down. The thought of being without sight for a few hours while trying to eat seemed weird…boy was I wrong. I would say that Dark Dining was one of the most unique, interesting and enjoyable dinning experiences I’ve ever had. Losing the sense of sight forced my other senses to work over time. I found myself completely immersed in the experience, the moment.
The sense of smell showed first as we all tried to guess what the meal would be. As we sipped wine between courses, we were surrounded by soothing music while Dana and her people provided gentle massages along with sensual caresses. When food came, it was our choice how to eat. I used my fingers…and texture became as important as flavor and smell. My fingers found the lobster bisque, the rice risotto, and the coleslaw. I enjoyed wonderful Bay Scallops and Rack of Lamb, also with my fingers…hell; I even ate the sorbet with my fingers. The only real mess was generated by my sister-in-law who must have spilled three glasses of wine. We were encouraged to touch our partners, hold hands, and share this sensual experience. I’m not sure how many of my fellow diners had the same experience that I had…I did hear quite a bit of business being discussed at surrounding tables and my feeling was that they missed out on a very enlightening dining experience. Dark Dining was truly a night to remember. Thank you to Dana and her whole staff. -- Rhoda and Jerry Draper
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Just wanted to say what a great time we had at the Halloween Dark Dining experience at Camaje in the West Village. . . Anyways, onto the dinner. It was really cool! Everyone who I told about it thought it was a really weird idea, but I was totally into it. Just sounded different and unique.
What I think I enjoyed most was having conversations in the dark. It reminds me a lot of being at a sleepover party. Where you’re talking to everyone but you can’t see their expressions. Your imagination starts to run wild. You loosen up a bit, too because no one is looking at you...you’re not so preoccupied about your appearance. With a few drinks your imagination runs more free and your inhibitions lower further. . .
Eating food in the dark is a really unique way to experience it....especially when no one tells you what it is you’re eating. You discover things purely on flavor and texture. It was amazing, for instance, how much beef tastes like chicken when you’re not looking at it. It’s more of a guessing game of trying to figure out the different flavors, herbs, and spices. My girlfriend was much better at this than I was. Seeing the menu at the end of dinner, sealed in wax, reminded me of the game Clue: finding out the answer to the mystery. . .
The cello player was pretty cool and added a neat effect. The crowd was silenced every half hour or so as we would listen to him play this freaky avant-garde music. It was kind of like a cult. I loved it! . . . I would definitely recommend this to other 'foodies' with an open mind and a sense of adventure. Hell, maybe I’ll do it again too! -- Jeff Paris
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We loved the Dark Dining experience. . . . We had not been to Nell’s despite its being in our wider neighborhood, but had heard of its reputation for lovely food, so we had the added dimension of experiencing the seats, the steps the corners, the sound ambiance, the whole spatial sense freshly. We imagined the color the décor completely differently from each other. I pictured black leather cushions on the benches with a dark reddish wood around it, he pictured painted wood and light cushions. No idea at all what the upholstered back rest part might look like - I pictured mossy green but did not like that idea so rejected it.
The wines were the best part. I am not a sensitive wine drinker so it was a lovely experience to have the wines chosen to pair with the foods, and to appreciate that combination and the aroma and flavors of the wines. It was interesting how challenged we were to figure out what we were eating. Textures were very important, the combinations of flavors in a dish or on a plate became heightened by the blindness. And the blindfolds were comfie I'd like to have some of those, can you tell me where to get them? I kept my eyes open, since there was room for that in the blindfold, but Gary kept his eyes shut most of the time. I could see the flash of the camera from time to time though I DID NOT PEEK! It just lit up the edges of the mask a tiny bit.
We began to feel like Stevie Wonder (I heard others mention it too), starting to move our heads differently, as sightless beings, to hear better or to make a more emphatic direction change, hard to say why, maybe partly a balance thing. One needs to be very comfortable and trusting. It is a trust exercise for sure in addition to the other things. . . .
The Food: The bread was great - loved the textures. Appetizers: loved them, the little puffs with goat cheese and crostini with seared tuna I think. The sea scallop was incredible! With corn bisque around it and the gnocchi, and the little green sprouts - nice mix of textures and flavors. It was only 2 days ago and I thought I'd never forget, but now I'm not so sure about a few things... That scallop was memorable! The "meat" we had with the parsnip puree and green bitter leggy vegetable was good too,w as rare and a little hard to eat, but delicious - we guessed it was lamb at first, then clearly not lamb, but not clearly anything - duck as it turned out which I have seldom had. I loved the huckleberry bits in whatever that was, the parsnip puree? Such a tangy surprise!! The dessert was good too and the sauterne was a perfect match.
While everything was fabulous and delicious the meal overall could have benefited from another texture. It was a little bit too much the same with the thick sauces and purees. Fresh ripe tomatoes or toasted something, or a cool thing, or sour thing - something a little more punchy and different would have been good. And a smaller dessert with more exciting flavor than the pear with pear ice cream - it was a little bland for me and too much of it (of course I had to eat it all) - maybe a lemon sorbet with a marzipan cookie and mint or something like that.
I think having slightly different items would be good so that everyone is not eating exactly the same thing and a people could share what they havethat's different (not to make a huge amount of extra work or cost) - "oh, you got a melon pickle, can I taste it if I give you a bit of my whatever this thing is, it's so delicious, it's crunchy and a little sweet with a hint of anise, what do you think it is?"
Too bad the tap dancer got in bad with the bees! Though I enjoyed having a hand and arm experience in place of it. The music was lovely and I liked the fantasy menu with great descriptions at the beginning.
What a fun idea, beautifully executed. I would surely attend another event like this, no doubt about it. Budgeting for it would be needed, so I want to be on your email list to anticipate the next one and save up.
Thank you for your artistic and creative adventuring that allowed us to participate so deliciously. The inclusive, interactive performance ART aspect is so intriguing - I loved that, and it looks like you are involved in all kinds of fascinating things. I would love to meet up with you again on any kind of adventure. My hat's are off to you and the chef and all who made this event such a terrific reality!! Thank you , thank you. -- Kari Berger with Gary Kelfner
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I thoroughly enjoyed the Dark Dining at Neil's in Seattle last week. The food was excellent, rich and complex. The wines were all very good except the Washington red. Most of the Washington reds I have tried are raw or unfinished. The whites are generally very good.
The long food list monolog was confusing. The violin piece was outstanding, great selection and well performed. (PS; can you please send the composer and piece, I would like to buy it.) Having it dark and everyone TOTALLY QUIET made it possible for us to be 100% in the perception of sound and the emotional fields the music awakened.
My suggestion is to do the same thing for the perception of taste/texture/olfactory sensations without talking. The challenge will be to get people to remain quiet with no music so they can focus on taste for one course. When you start talking about the food you are no longer paying full attention to the sensations. Do this early in the evening before too much wine is consumed (but with a good complex wine). Thank you for a wonderful sensual experience. Please come back and do it again." Dan Morris
"I meant to respond sooner--we both LOVED Dark Dining. It was maybe the best dining experience I've had. Maybe because I'm so into food, but I really liked not seeing the food or having the presentation get in the way of experiencing the tastes, smells and textures. I might begin to close my eyes while eating! The food was fantastic. We will go back there to dine, maybe with [other family members]. -- Shirlee Reade
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What a wonderful experience. My husband and I loved it! The food was fantastic (as anticipated) and the experience was very unique. I truly expected it to be much more difficult than it was, although using fingers helped a lot. I was a challenge trying to pick out the different flavors and ingredients. I must say, we were right in most cases although the squab threw us a little bit. The entertainment was very different and enjoyable. The skit made me think of the days riding with my parents in the car listening to "The Green Hornet". The Cello was so soothing and relaxing that I almost wanted to nap and the tap dancing was terrific. I loved the way it traveled from room to room and you would hear it near then far. Great experience, Dana. Thanks. We will hope to see you back in Seattle again sometime. -- Joyce A. Nugent