Dining In The Dark- Camaje New York

Dark Dining Blindfolded

I have seen dining in the dark many times on television and in the movies. I was finally able to experience it in New York thanks to Google. What an experience it was!

Camaje, a French bistro in the West Village, takes their Dark Dining very seriously. Till this day I have no idea what the restaurant looks like. At Dark Dining, we were lead into the restaurant, seated, walked to the bathroom, and walked out all blindfolded.

Dark Dining at Camaje was a multi-course meal with wine and entertainment.

This is what we ate and drank.

Crunch Course One:
- Toasted Stirato (Italian baguette) with Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Garlic
This opening course was meant to experience the scale of the room. Everyone took a bite of the baguette and we listened to the crunches echo.

One Fallen Bread

 Course Two:
- Chilled Avocado & Cucumber Soup with Herbs
- Creyssels 2010 Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc, France
The soup was delicious, cool, and refreshing. 

To Sip or Spoon?

Course Three:
- Arctic Char with Garlic Scape-Arugula Pesto over a Raw Salad of Rainbow Swiss Chard, Tuscan Kale, Napa Cabbage and Toasted Pine Nuts
- William Cole 2009 Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley, Chile
While the fish was tasty, it was already cold from sitting out for awhile. Some thought it was salmon.

Arctic Char

Course Four:
- Spice-Rubbed (Cumin, Coriander, Cinnamon & Smoked Paprika) Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Israeli Cous Cous & Lentil Salad
- Les Violettes 2011 Côtes-du-Rhône, Rhône, France
The pork tenderloin was also cold, as well as dry. I didn't finish the dish since I didn't care for it much. A lot of people thought it was beef.

Cold Pork Tenderloin

Course Five:
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (oats, spices, dark brown sugar, toasted coconut) with Our Homemade Mint Ice Cream
- Casa de Sta. Eufemia Tawny Porto
Dessert was quite yummy and I am glad the meal ended on a high note. I just wish there was more of it. The serving portions at Camaje are very small. It was enough to taste what you were eating but not enough to get full from or really appreciate when it was good. Many thought the rhubarb crisp was apple and the ice cream flavor was unidentifiable since it was very faint. Nonetheless, the texture and flavors of the dish paired well.

Mint Ice Cream and Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Throughout the meal, we had a singer and a masseuse. We were asked to sing with the singer quite a few times and the massager went around touching everyone.

Singing Opera

Sense of Touch

The food was meant to heighten your senses. Since we did not have sight, we relied more on our sense of taste, touch, and hearing to experience the meal. It was difficult and uneasy as it just sounded like chaos around the room. Within 15 minutes of the meal, I had already spilled a glass of wine on my date. Apparently, I was waving my arms in the air to high. Camaje graciously excused my faux pas by cleaning up the mess immediately and explaining that it happens all the time. I would not recommend dining in the dark for first dates.

Be Careful With Your Wine

Dark Dining Photography

Dark Dining happens twice a month. Check the website for event dates. Reservations suggested. Meals are $120/pp and cocktail parties are $75/pp. Taking pictures and video is allowed, however they will be blindly taken and the results can be a hit or miss.

Camaje
85 MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012