Dining in the Dark in Beverly Hills
Hello my friends; I've got to tell you about this amazing time I had last night. Because of my awesome connections (ok, more like because my roommate writes for the Los Angeles Times' online blog), I got to attend Foundation Fighting Blindness' Dining in the Dark at the famous Beverly Hills Hotel (but no, we didn't see LiLoh); an event where guests got to experience a simulated blind eating experience in effort to raise awareness for various eye disorders. I was so excited to be a guest to this event, because the tickets started at $300 (remember Cindy's $18 drink experience at the SLS Hotel? Well, fortunately, my drinks were taken care of--which my roommate believes I took advantage of).Anyways, we got to hear CSI actor and emcee John Wellner talk about his personal experience with eye disorders, which was enlightening and entertaining (see my roommate's article to find out what images John looks at to retain for his dark years; it's not the bleak perspective you might imagine). It's also funny because one of the first times I heard of this type of dinner was on an episode of CSI which featured a restaurant where customers dined in the dark--and thus provided an opportunity for concealed murder (so as you might imagine, I had a little hesitation going in--but seeing as I am not a crime boss or Mafioso of any type, I figured my chances of assassination were pretty slim). And it was touching to hear the stories about parents and kids who have gone through the fears of blindness, with FFB helping to shed light on the issue.
But for me, the best part of the evening was definitely when they turned out the lights to eat dinner. Our food was served by a woman who is legally blind; as the majority of the waiters were at the dark portion of the night. It was kind of disarming to have your eyes open but not be able to see anything; I kept tapping my roommate on the arm to make sure that she was still there; since I couldn't see her, I kept worrying that she had gotten up and left when I didn't hear her say anything (again, note the Times article about the people checking to make sure others were still there; it's definitely what I did!).
But as for the food--it was delicious! And it was amplified by the fact that I could eat it with my hands and not feel judged at all (and in a 5-star hotel in Hollywood, no less!). It was kind of like being a little kid again; but then, I felt a little silly looking back at it, because no blind person eats with their hands because they think they can just get away with it. Still, it was a really fun experience, and it was really exciting to be inside the Beverly Hill's Hotel (note the chandelier--those lights are actually in flowers--gorgeous!); now maybe in the future I will get to stay there one day. Until then, I'll just go along with my friend to help her out with the cocktails.
P.S. Sorry that there aren't more pictures--as you can imagine, it was dark for a reasonable portion of the evening, which just doesn't provide the best picture taking options.
