I take for granted what I have. I wrinkle up my nose at the lady with the bad smelling perfume beside me on the train (SMELL), or the young teenager that's playing his music from a beat up cell phone without earphones so the whole subway train can hear it (HEARING). I get annoyed when someone sits too closely to me and leans a little too hard against me as the subway rocks back and forth (TOUCH). I grumble as I get out of bed and see the winter blizzard blowing from outside my window (SIGHT). I gasp as I eat something that doesn't please my palette (TASTE)..and what I don't realize is...I take it all for granted.
Tonight, I took my friend Ashley out for a birthday dinner. Thinking, what could I do that would be original and different. What have I never done before? A friend of mine suggested I visit a restaurant called NOIR. "You'll love it Rach, it's a whole new experience, it's dining in the dark". Dining in the dark? Really? Now that was something I had to try. Knowing my track record, I felt it wise to dress in black that day. I can barely keep light colors tidy when I'm not in the dark, surely I would embarrass myself if it was anything other than black.
We arrived at 620 Church Street and headed down a flight of stairs that lead to a lobby that looked like an old library. A Sherlock Holmes kind of feel with a bar! LOL...Old book shelves and a mysterious feel to it. On the wall was a quote that really summed up the whole evening
The quote said "There is no darkness but ignorance".
We were greeted by a hostess who then told us that our server would be Michael and he is visually impaired. She knocked on a door and shortly afterwards, Michael came out and greeted us. We were asked to stand in a row, with our right hand on the person in front of us, and Michael then led us to the table.
It sort of felt like I was playing a game of Marco Polo, minus the pool. Trusting on my other senses, and Michael of course, to get us to the table.
But then the fun began.
You never know how much you rely on your sight, until it's taken away. Where the hell is the butter? My knife? The glass of juice I ordered. You can't see a thing, it's pitch dark and after a while your eyes get so tired of searching for light, that you just end up closing them. I could have guessed that there might have been about 5 other tables in the room. But who the heck knows? LOL! I heard voices, I smelled the food, I listened more to Ashley and wasn't distracted by things that would make me drift away from the conversation. No cell phones, no internet access, nothing, but darkness and good conversation.
When the food arrived I was excited. Some swayed me from going there, saying "what if the food drops on the floor", "what if it's recycled"...I had to trust that the awards upon awards that this restaurant had been given, was reason to trust that I'd enjoy my meal. It was delicious! Mind you, I started out attempting to eat with a knife and fork, but after poking my cheek with my fork several times, and losing my knife somewhere on the table, I said "screw it"...and ate with my hands. Yes, that's right. I ate my steak, potatoe wedges and portabello mushrooms with the 10 instruments God gave me, my hands. And hey, no one could see me anyway, so what's the big deal? Ashley and I laughed as we succesffully finished each plate that was handed to us by Michael. He'd rest it on our shoulder so we could grab it and put it down in front of us.
Our conversations were intense, and we could not rely on facial expressions to get our messages across. Words seem to have more meaning and the sound of my friends voice seemed more clear than ever before.
After about an hour and half of eating in the dark, we were lead from the table to the door that would bring us back to light. Ashley and I felt like we were seeing for the first time in years.
And as we paid the staff for the wonderful meal, and grabbed our coats and headed back to the car, we gazed at the street lights, the colors, the passing cars and thanked God that we did have our sight.
We know our server Michael doesn't end his shift the way we did that night. We know he doesn't walk into the light and see the traffic lights and the whizzing cars. But we do know that he appreciates life differently than we do. He listens, he hears things that we take for granted, his taste buds must come alive when he sits down to a meal.
Do I recommend NOIR? Absolutely worth the time and money. It's one of the places in Toronto that you must visit before you die! Step out of your box and try something new.
We are so glad we did.
P.S- a great date night if you need to test how well you can communicate with your partner. You'll have fun, but also realize if your relationship can hold up when you can't stare into each
others eyes.
NOIR is located at
416-922-NOIR
