meal in the murkiness? Or something like that.... (part 1)

Opaque -"blocking the passage of radiant energy and especially light"



I'm being laid off from my job of seven and a half years. It's all for that better. So, a good friend of mine made arrangements to help celebrate my upcoming freedom. At first it was going to be a surprise but then she couldn't wait and eventually told me. She described to me an eating experience where you eat in the dark (she knows I love anything related to food) . Cool! I had heard about this kind of dining a little while back (something that originated in Europe) and had thought it would be a very interesting to try. I was really excited to go.


The restaurant is called Opaque. A club called Crimson Lounge is being used three nights a week (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) as the basement venue with the food from the restaurant next door, Indigo. I wasn't exactly sure what it would be like but I had my own ideas. I was afraid that my mind would be trying too hard to visualize the surroundings and that would interfere with enjoying the meal. I was thinking that instead of my eyes seeing the food, my mind would be in overdrive trying to "see" the food. But I didn't find it a problem. We'll get to that later.


My friend Sharon drove and it was just our luck that there was some event going on in the Civic Center area so the parking was not as easy as it could have been. We did find a space a couple of blocks away that we determined would be safe. There were spaces closer but they were in "iffy" locations. Two blocks wasn't too far to walk. Unless you're looking close you might actually walk past the front door, which we did. There is a sign outside but it was small and dark, plus the doorway was also small compared to the entire storefront next to it. I guess we were expecting a big sign and a larger entryway. You are greeted at a podium at the top of a staircase where you are then led down a staircase to the "staging area". Here you choose your meal because you can't see the menu in the actual pitch black dining room. That made sense. It's a three course prix fixe menu. First course is an Arugula salad or seared ahi (or salmon for the chicken course). Entree choices are fish, chicken, beef or pasta. Dessert is a mango panna cotta or bittersweet chocolate cake. Check the Opaque website for details.

Sharon chose the Arugula salad (baby arugula with ruby red grapefruit, Laura Chenel goat cheese, toasted walnuts with a champagne vinaigrette), fish entree (pan seared Mahi Mahi, warm chickpea salad with Blue Lake Beans, cherry tomatoes, roasted lemon sauce and toasted pistachio nuts) and Mango Panna Cotta (with coconut creme anglaise and basil syrup). I ordered the Seared Ahi Tuna (with shoestring potatoes, pickled ginger and a wasabi aioli). The hostess recommended the beef entree (grilled beef tenderloin with sweet potato puree, roasted broccolini and a green peppercorn sauce and truffle butter). For dessert I chose the Bittersweet Chocolate Cake (with Bing cherries in mint sugar and vanilla whipped cream). (drooling yet?)

After taking our order the hostess introduced us to our server, Mocha. All the servers in the dining room are legally blind, either completely or seriously impaired. Mocha was very open and accessible when it came to describing her blindness. Her sight impairment has been with her since birth and has gradually gotten worse, but it hasn't prevented her from being a poet, writer, model, actress, social worker, college graduate, and the list goes on. Her intelligence and demeanor helped make the entire meal a very pleasant experience. (to be continued)