Eating Dinner IN THE DARK--Blindfolded at San Chez

Kealoha and I decided to have one final date night as singles before the big wedding day…and what better way to celebrate than eating a ten-course dinner entirely in the dark? I mean, this was an obvious choice. So when San Chez sent an email saying they were having a Dinner In The Dark where guests were blindfolded and the menu was secret, Kealoha signed us up. (He’s no longer concussed so he was thinking fully when he agreed to it.)

What’s it like eating in the dark? Awkward at first, and then strangely sensual.

We sat down in the café part of San Chez and waited for the guests to arrive. What kind of people would subject themselves to eating blind? First, you have to have a pretty hefty amount of trust…and you also have to be okay with possibly looking ridiculous. About twenty or so others joined us with people from their late twenties to those daredevil baby boomers.

After waiting for some late customers (annoying. be on time.) the blindfolds came down.

You really couldn’t see. Suddenly the world became sounds and smells and touch. I told Kealoha if he wasn’t talking I wouldn’t know he was there. He put his hand on my knee. At least I think it was him.

The first course came. Every course was paired with an alcoholic beverage…and by the time we started eating we really, really wanted a drink. The server set the dish in front of us. “Okay,” she said, “it’s directly in front of you. There’s a little dish and a sauce. Enjoy.” That was all the instruction.

I gently used my fingertips to find the plate, lifted it to my lips and…then what? How did I eat it? I couldn’t see. I probed it with my fingertips and touched something silky and wet, and then some soft and cool pillow of sauce at the bottom of the dish. I wrapped my fingers around the item and put it tenderly in my mouth. (I could be writing an erotica novel right now.) It was delicious. Slightly sweet with a salty and nutty sauce. I had no idea what I was eating, but I liked it. I could tell by Kealoha’s grunts that he liked it too. Or he was doing push ups. Not sure about that.

Apparently, we were eating a Nori Salad Bouquet with Warm Soy Dressing. Lovely.

Next came bitter beer (not a fan) with a crispy bruschetta toast. The server said “It’s in front of you and is rectangular in shape. The topping is balanced on it.” Again, my fingers probed gently, I brought the bread up to my mouth and bit in. Chewy. Crunchy. Smooth. Buttery. Oh, bruschetta smeared with a warm butter. Really good butter too. Luscious. And then the acidic sweet taste of what I thought was marinated cherries. I crushed them with my tongue on the roof of my mouth. A blend and balance of sweet, salty, savory, cream. Mmm. What was it? Bone Marrow On Foccacia With Hawaiian Black Salt and Sherried Grapes.

Yes. Bone marrow. And it was good. I now understand why cave men sucked on bones and why we have the phrase “suck the marrow” of life. It’s pure decadent living…and makes a girl who sometimes swings vegetarian feel a smidge guilty.

The night wore on. It was a long time of sitting in the dark. Kealoha and I chatted about the upcoming wedding, memories, everyday stresses. A table of four women got drunk and took off their blindfolds, but everyone else stayed in the game. There were highlights of the night, and a few that weren’t as successful. One dish was cold, another warm. Some played with modern gastronomy techniques. You never knew what was coming.

The Cuban Deconstruct: Swiss Tuille, Gherkin, Pork Powder, Pickled Mustard Seeds And Atomized Mojo was a revelation. Seriously, it was like a perfect morsel of food. At once exciting, titillating, and harmonious. I’m not talking about music or sex, but I could be. Good food is like that.

And another favorite was the Sizzling Scallops. The restaurant sizzled and it sounded like rain. We caught a waft of smoke and the sea and then were presented with something balanced on a fork. I couldn’t take it in one bite, so I had to touch it. Soft, squishy, something fluffy on top. It was a perfectly cooked scallop (it dissolved in your mouth) with what tasted like caramelized brown sugar. In fact, the scalllop was topped with squid ink cotton candy. I really would’ve liked to have seen that one.

Less successful dishes included a Deep Fried Egg Yolk with Asparagus Foam and Lemon Zest. While the crunch and foaminess were texturally appealing, the dish lacked salt and flavor. The Foiley Pop was an exciting dish, but as a sometime vegetarian, it was a bit much for me. It arrived in a Ziploc bag. I fumbled with the bag to open it, revealing a puff of woodsmoke. I found the stick, and put the item in my mouth and immediately my tongue danced and popped. The gelatinous center though scared me. I imagined eating an eyeball lollipop or something, and I had to take a big drink of water. It was foi gras on a stick with sour berry pop rocks and cherry wood smoke. The people on Chopped would’ve been impressed; it just wasn’t my thing.

The evening ended around 11 and Kealoha and I were exhausted. The chefs toyed with our senses, the servers spritzed us with scents and surprised us with sounds, and Kealoha and I stumbled awkwardly through it, side by side.

Sort of a metaphor for marriage, I suppose.

Would I do this again? You bet. The evening pushed me out of my comfort zone with food and it made me aware that food is, at its best, a sensual experience. It was an adventurous night, and all we had to do was go downtown and put a blindfold on. And we got to keep our blindfolds…you know…in case we need them…for…uhm…another adventure.

Review: Bar Divani and the Elk Cove Wine Tasting Dinner

Last night Kealoha and I went to the Elk Cove Wine Tasting Dinner at Bar Divani. Bar Divani is a sophisticated (but not stuffy) restaurant nestled next to Hop Cat and a series of other bars. (This is in Grand Rapids, Michigan in case you're wondering.) Walking in, it feels sort of like you’re walking into a place that’s pro-corduroy. Some people hate corduroy. For me that’s a compliment. I mean, that when you walk in it’s all soft and moody and warm feeling, the way corduroy makes me feel without that vvvvvvp vvvvvvvvp sound when you walk.

We were seated in the front of the restaurant at a cozy little table and I breathed a sigh of relief. The last wine tasting I went to there was held in a big back room. Everyone sat at round tables. I was on a date at that time (an awkward first date) and with the added awkwardness of eating with strangers, it was an evening that gave me hives. No hives last night though. It was just me and Kealoha, so we could talk about whatever we wanted to without the pressure of sounding smart or sophisticated.

The first wine was the Pinot Noir Rosé, Willamette Valley, 2010. Generally, I’m not a fan of Rosés. It makes me feel like I’m only pretending to drink wine. Kealoha thought it was okay. I thought it was a good Mom Wine.

Of course, I’m a mom…but I mean…it’s a good wine for people who don’t usually drink wine and would like to give it the old college try. Although, that makes it sound like they’d put the wine in one of those beer hats and chug it. I guess you could. It’s crisp, and light and tastes a little bit of honey. I said that to Kealoha. He said, “It tastes like wine to me.” We’re both right. I mentioned it had good legs and he looked under the table for them. That’s when I stopped trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about.

1^ST COURSE

The 1^st course brought wine AND food. I was giggling happily. 1^st course was: swordfish ceviche with red onion, jalapeño, lime juice and cilantro served with Elk Cove’s Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, 2009.

I was a little leery of the ceviche. Ceviche is basically raw ‘whatever you want’ served with some sort of acidity. That sounds technical. What I mean is a good cerviche has pieces that are small enough so that the vinegar or citrus actually cooks the seafood a little bit. I’ve had raw ceviche before…but this was lovely. Tiny, succulent pieces of swordfish mixed with diced red onions and lots of lime, served with tortilla chips. A great appetizer. Simple and seductive. If this ceviche was people (you wouldn’t eat it then of course), it would be that quiet person at the bar you don’t notice at first, and then, holy wah! When you put them in your mouth….

Oh. Wait. Sorry. I started writing a romance novel for a moment. Forgive me. Back to the review.

The wine was lovely. My favorite of the evening. What’s nice about a Pinot Gris is it’s similar to a chardonnay but they take out all the wonky attitude. I mean, there’s none of that oaky flavor that makes you feel like the wine was stored in some lady’s closet. MY MOM’S closet maybe. (You know what I’m referencing here.) This pinot gris was as it should be: citrusy, crisp, and oh so easy to drink. (I bought two bottles.)

2^ND COURSE

Then we were on to the second course. I was joking with Kealoha about how (again) he doesn’t annoy me. This is shocking to me. Why doesn’t he annoy me? I mean, I’m sure he will at some point, but we’re committed enough now that if he annoys me, I can tell him so and take some space. In the past, I’d get annoyed pretty easy with men. I just thought that’s the way it was. I thought men were just annoying. Now I see that was my inner gut saying “Dude. Tanya, this guy is not a good fit for you.” Kealoha is a good fit for me. He said that I don’t annoy him either, but then, he tried not to date people who annoyed him in the first place.

He said, “Remember in When Harry Met Sally that Harry wouldn’t date this one woman because she smelled like soup? You don’t smell like soup.”

“Sometimes I smell like soup,” I said.

“Yeah, but only when you cook soup.”

That’s true.

Anyway…2^nd course was a pork roulade with chevre and walnuts, roasted fingerlings, rapini and pomegranate jus. Wine was a Pinot Noir. This course was incredible. Great presentation. There was a hint of what I thought was red wine vinegar mixed with a sweet cherry smell. That was the pomegranate jus I guess. I could also smell the slightly caramelized potatoes with rosemary. The roulade was tender and a terrific combination of flavors: creamy, sweet, bitter, acidic, touch of salt. In other words, this dish achieved the umami flavor when everything is balanced. I wasn’t sure what the rapini was. Some sort of cross between spinach and broccoli. Anyway. I ate all of it. I would’ve licked the plate and thought about it, but decided not to. I didn’t want to get a stain on my shirt.

The pinot noir was good. This one had a little more attitude to it. It might have overpowered the roulade a little bit, but I think it’d be terrific with a burger fresh from the grill.

3^RD COURSE

At this point, I was a little bit buzzed. I admit it. I know this because my notes are a little blurry and misspelled. Third course was roasted veal chops with sweet potato gnocchi and a morel glaze, served with the Big Daddy wine of the evening, another Pinot Noir but from a different vintage…or grape harvest….or whatever. I don’t know this stuff.

This was good, but not the best. I would’ve thought it was a fatty pork chop if I didn’t know it was veal. I thought veal was supposed to be thin and very tender. That might just be my mis-education. The glaze was nice, but a little salty. I liked the gnocchi and the asparagus. But for me, this dish didn’t live up to the other two. I think if you’re a big meat eater aficionado, this one might’ve worked for you, but Kealoha and I we were a little underwhelmed.

FINALLY

To end the evening, they gave us a spoon with a dollop of goat cheese, a single blueberry and pistachio and drizzled with honey. I love the idea of a one-bite dessert. And this was good. Again, I think they were going for a blend of flavors and textures. I like the textures particularly: creamy, crunchy, burst of sweetness. Yum.

It was a great night. Would I recommend Elk Cove Vineyard? Absolutely. And it’s cool that they’re a family company and only have 9 different wines.

And Bar Divani? For sure. I’m not going to give it stars or wine glasses or whatever because I think a place is either good and worth re-visiting, or not. This one is worth re-visiting, and great to take friends or loved ones or even awkward first dates to. Even though the veal wasn’t my favorite, it was still way better than what most restaurants serve. The atmosphere is relaxed, we had a friendly server, good attention from the Wine Dude and the owner (but they weren’t overly obtrusive), and Kealoha and I could talk about smelling like soup and not worry if anyone was listening.

I’ll be looking for another tasting. They’re fun. And next time, I’m hoping to convince some friends to go along with us. (Hint hint. You know who you are.)