Eating in the dark: Blind Cafe returns to Seattle

What happens when you remove the visual experience from dining?

Find out at The Blind Cafe, a traveling dinner-community-building-vision-impaired-awareness-event where a blind wait staff serves multiple vegan, gluten-free courses in the pitch dark. Native Seattle chef Johnny Williams of Sweet Pea Cottage School of the Arts will prepare the food and an as-yet-undisclosed band will perform music – to further challenge your senses, of course.

After, diners will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with the blind waiters about the challenges of visual impairment. Ticket price is suggested at $85 per person and is not to exceed $195. The margin from ticket sales above $85 will go towards scholarship and discounted tickets for those who otherwise could not afford a ticket.

We obviously can’t disclose details of the menu but a sample menu from a previous Blind Cafe included truffle celery-root mashed potatoes, Thai vegetable salad wraps, spiced carrots with chickpea sauerkraut puree and a dark chocolate mousse.

Blind Cafe hit the road after receiving the Addison Mini-Grant Award from the Boulder County Arts Alliance for its Boulder Blind Cafe. Here in Seattle, the dinners will have two seatings – 6 or 8:30 p.m. – Feb. 11, 12 and 13 at Nalanda West, 3902 Woodland Park Ave North.