Week 3: Sensory, Perception, Cognition
Outside Dark Table Restaurant in Kitsilano, Vancouver (Image: theepochtimescom)
When this topic was first introduced, I immediately thought back to my dining experience at Dark Table Restaurant a few weeks ago. This was an experience I wanted to try for some time even though the review from friends have been luke warm. The main criticism I've heard was the mediocre quality of the food and how it doesn't "rival some of Vancouver's best restaurant" as claimed on their website. This begs the question; is taste affected by what we see (or don't see)?
Exterior Waiting/Ordering Area (Image: 604nomnom.com)
When my friends and I first arrived at the restaurant, we were seated outside in the dimly lit waiting area. The outside servers took our order from the picture-less set menu (deliberate move I believe). We then waited for a good ten minutes before our table server, Laticia, greeted us and lead us to the interior vestibule. The anticipation of waiting could be a move to increase the feeling of exclusivity to those passing by. The dimly lit atmosphere set the mood for the rest of the night as it help adjusted our eyes to the approaching experience.
How we looked walking in and out of the restaurant. Please note, this was not a wedding.(Image: toxel.com)
Laticia got us to all form a line and put our hands on the person shoulder's in front of us. Inside the vestibule, it was completely pitch black. The only light was from the glowing exit sign and even then I couldn't see my own hands in front of me. Laticia explained to us the rules and premise of the restaurant and what was going to happen. I felt a sense of anticipation and excitement but also felt scared. When Laticia was guiding me to line up with the others, she felt my hands shaking. She reassured me that there's no need to be scared. I must admit that I'm a bit afraid of the dark. So voluntarily going into a dark room made me feel uneasy (Yay! Survival instincts!).
The first sense I heavily relied on was touch. I was touching everything. I'm sure I accidentally felt up a friend or two. There was an urge to know my sense of place. My hands were infront trying to find our table. When I found my chair, I gripped onto it as it was going to be "my space" for the next couple of hours.
The table setting was differentiated by contrasting textures. The place mats were weaved and were against a glass table. That change in texture allowed me to assign where I ate and put my cutlery. The glass had to stay at the edge of the place mat to Laticia knew where to put my plate of food.
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We started off with bread and we even attempted to feed each other. It was an awkward and intimate experience. More butter ended up on faces then on the actual slice of bread. I was sitting beside one of my girlfriends and we developed a system where we would touch and hold the other person's face first before putting the bread in their mouths. It was an intimate gesture that I wouldn't have ever done if I could see. The boys across from us didn't develop any kind of system and just tried to match the food to the mouth. The bread didn't' taste any different even without a sense of sight.
The texture and taste of the food made it obvious to tell what I was eating. From the texture of the kale to the tartness of the pomegranate seeds, each dish had varying textures and tastes. Even the smell gave away what I was eating. I ordered a dish with shrimp in it and I could smell the butter garlic before it was served to me. These sensations were heightened by my lack of vision and was an interesting experience to have.
These heightened sensations might also be the downfall of Dark Table Restaurant. The food itself was tasty but was nothing spectacular. The appetizer salad was the most interesting in terms of taste because of the sweet and sour combination. It had the most difference in texture and taste. My main entree had textures and tastes that were too similar and lacked stimulation. I guess when it comes down to it, I have never broken down why certain foods are enjoyable. Just like visual stimulation, contrast is a big factor when providing excitement to our other senses. Since taste encompasses the other senses into the experience, I can't really tell whether or not sight has anything to do with it. I felt like even if I could see what I was eating, my opinion wouldn't have changed.
When it came time to pay, Laticia had to bring us to a closed offed curtained area with a dimly lit cash area (that was also closed off with a curtain). The waiting area for the cash helped us adapt to the light (even though it was still pitch black). The cash counter was blinding regardless of how much prep time we had. It was a shock to be able to see something. I thought they could have decorated the cash counter better since it was place the patrons would be able to remember. When we went out of the restaurant into the streets, it was another shocking experience. The streetlights were blinding. The visual stimulation was a lot to take in. Walking in the street felt like such a dynamic experience. The movement of my body and the surroundings felt unnatural to me.
Image: What I imagined the place settings looked like but without the plates (Source: defogitall.com)
Image: What we looked like trying to feed each other (Source: diaryofanafrican.blogspot.ca)
We started off with bread and we even attempted to feed each other. It was an awkward and intimate experience. More butter ended up on faces then on the actual slice of bread. I was sitting beside one of my girlfriends and we developed a system where we would touch and hold the other person's face first before putting the bread in their mouths. It was an intimate gesture that I wouldn't have ever done if I could see. The boys across from us didn't develop any kind of system and just tried to match the food to the mouth. The bread didn't' taste any different even without a sense of sight.
The texture and taste of the food made it obvious to tell what I was eating. From the texture of the kale to the tartness of the pomegranate seeds, each dish had varying textures and tastes. Even the smell gave away what I was eating. I ordered a dish with shrimp in it and I could smell the butter garlic before it was served to me. These sensations were heightened by my lack of vision and was an interesting experience to have.
These heightened sensations might also be the downfall of Dark Table Restaurant. The food itself was tasty but was nothing spectacular. The appetizer salad was the most interesting in terms of taste because of the sweet and sour combination. It had the most difference in texture and taste. My main entree had textures and tastes that were too similar and lacked stimulation. I guess when it comes down to it, I have never broken down why certain foods are enjoyable. Just like visual stimulation, contrast is a big factor when providing excitement to our other senses. Since taste encompasses the other senses into the experience, I can't really tell whether or not sight has anything to do with it. I felt like even if I could see what I was eating, my opinion wouldn't have changed.
When it came time to pay, Laticia had to bring us to a closed offed curtained area with a dimly lit cash area (that was also closed off with a curtain). The waiting area for the cash helped us adapt to the light (even though it was still pitch black). The cash counter was blinding regardless of how much prep time we had. It was a shock to be able to see something. I thought they could have decorated the cash counter better since it was place the patrons would be able to remember. When we went out of the restaurant into the streets, it was another shocking experience. The streetlights were blinding. The visual stimulation was a lot to take in. Walking in the street felt like such a dynamic experience. The movement of my body and the surroundings felt unnatural to me.
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