> Keeps Diners Completely in the Dark
>
> By JANE COSTELLO
> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
> ZURICH -- Nothing looks good to eat at the Blind Cow restaurant.
>
> It's not that the pan-fried trout with boiled potatoes and the red
> snapper
> with green lentils are bad. It's just impossible to see the dishes or
> the
> plates
> they are on.
>
> Or the silverware.
>
> Or anything at all.
>
> That's because patrons at this eatery in this pristine Swiss city dine
> in
> total darkness and place their trust in the hands of bartenders, cooks
> and
> waitresses,
> almost all of whom are blind.
> [Blind Cow]
>
> Named for the Swiss game of blind man's bluff, Blind Cow is the
> brainchild
> of the Rev. Jorge Spielmann, a 37-year-old blind pastor who has been
> known
> to
> blindfold his dinner guests just for fun. Mr. Spielmann was inspired to
> open the restaurant while volunteering to tend bar at a 1998 public
> exhibit
> in
> Zurich where sighted people groped their way through various dark rooms
> to
> catch a glimpse of what it means to be blind. After serving up drinks
> in
> the
> dark, Mr. Spielmann saw the light.
>
> "For once, you couldn't tell the difference between the hobby blind and
> the
> professional blind," he says. "I wanted that feeling to continue."
>
> Dark Motives
>
> Mr. Spielmann and four blind colleagues set out to establish a
> restaurant
> that would provide jobs for blind and visually impaired people while
> giving
> the
> sighted the chance to appreciate the skills required to cope in the
> dark.
> After raising an initial 300,000 Swiss francs (about $170,000) in
> donations
> from
> local businesses and charities, Mr. Spielmann found space in an unused
> Lutheran church.
>
> The 60-seat restaurant opened in September 1999. Poetically situated at
> the
> crest of a blind curve in a quiet residential neighborhood, the
> restaurant
> has
> stained glass windows that are ablaze in the evenings and a spotlight
> that
> shines over the heavy wooden doors. At first glance, the well-lit
> reception
> room looks like any other, with a menu written on a large chalkboard,
> and a
> receptionist seated in front of a telephone and cash register.
>
> But any similarities end when a blind waitress arrives with bells on
> her
> toes to usher diners into the darkness. One guest is told to place both
> hands on
> her shoulders, while other members of the party follow in kind. She
> leads
> them through blackened curtains to a dimmed holding area where they get
> a
> rundown
> of the rules: no smoking, no iridescent watches, no flashlights and,
> above
> all, no wandering. Guests who need to use the lighted restrooms must
> wait
> for
> her to lead them, to and fro. Any requests during the meal are to be
> made
> by shouting to summon the bell-wearing staff.
>
> The bells also serve to allow the wait-staff to avoiding colliding with
> each other with plates of hot food. "We still bump into each other a
> lot,"
> says
> Christine Wegmueller, a 29-year-old music student who has been a
> waitress
> at Blind Cow since it opened.
>
> Once the ground rules are explained, guests parade through the pitch
> black
> to their tables, as the waitress explains where the chairs and place
> settings
> are located. The staff says there is no more breakage at Blind Cow than
> at
> any other restaurant, since customers are extraordinarily careful not
> to
> knock
> anything over.
>
> Once seated, customers place orders and then sit back to feast on their
> remaining four senses. When the meal is over, diners tread lightly to a
> lighted
> reception desk, where people blink their eyes, pay the bill and stuff
> tips
> in a piggybank shaped like a blindfolded cow.
>
> "It's very noisy in there," says Blind Cow patron Patricia Sennhauser,
> who
> heard about the restaurant from a friend and decided to make a
> reservation
> for
> lunch. "It was so loud, it was difficult to hear my companion. I found
> myself leaning forward as if I were blind."
>
> Another first-time customer had a hard time remembering what she ate,
> since
> she spent so much time concentrating on how to eat it. "It was easier
> than
> I
> thought it would be, but I kept touching my eyes to make sure they were
> still there," says Iris Voegelin, who came to dine with a group of
> co-workers.
> "I'm happy I still can see."
>
> Most customers agree that the menu of modestly priced German
> specialties is
> secondary to the atmosphere -- or lack of it -- and that they come
> mainly
> for
> the experience. Mr. Spielmann says his biggest fear was that the
> novelty
> would wear off, and Blind Cow would close down in three months.
> Instead,
> every
> seat is booked for dinner through March.
>
> "At this point, customers have seen it all," says Blind Cow's manager,
> Adrian Schaffner, who thinks that the concept could be a hit in cities
> like
> New York
> and Los Angeles, where sophisticated diners hunger for new experiences.
> "To
> be successful in the restaurant business, it's not just food and drink;
> you
> need a message."
>
> And an open mind. In order for the Blind Cow concept to catch on,
> experience junkies will need to check their table manners at the door,
> since dining in
> darkness invites the temporarily blind to eat like cavemen while
> avoiding
> any social repercussions over poor manners. Some diners confess to
> wiping
> mouths
> or mustaches on sleeves. Nobody worries about being seen using the
> wrong
> fork, either.
>
> Others take short cuts. "It's hard for people to use knives, especially
> when they order meat," explains Ms. Wegmueller. "Lots of times, they
> pick
> it up
> and eat it by hand. It's easier that way."
>
> Some customers use the cover of darkness to have a little fun. Consider
> three couples who sat down for dinner recently. When the women left to
> go
> to the
> washroom, the men changed seats. When the women returned, each man
> leaned
> over to plant a kiss on the lips of his unsuspecting companion. "One
> woman
> said,
> 'Stop! You're not my husband,' " laughs Ms. Wegmueller. "But another
> one
> couldn't tell the difference and those two just kept on kissing."
>
> Inevitably someone would use the restaurant for, yes, a blind date. The
> woman came in first; she nursed her drink in the dark, and the man was
> led
> in to
> meet her a half-hour later. To the disappointment of the staff, the
> couple
> left separately, without having laid eyes on each other.
>
> Mr. Schaffner sees a bright spot in the story -- and a way to market
> Blind
> Cow. Starting next March, he plans to make Monday night "date night,"
> complete
> with guest speakers to discuss sex and relationships. "People can ask
> all
> kinds of questions in the dark," he says.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Just an email away ......
Justin
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