25th Birthday Celebration - Dining in the Dark
- Kaylin M
- Nov 8, 2018
- 4 min read
On October 9, I turned 25. I cannot believe how quickly these past few years have flown by. It's been 7 years since I was in high school. 3 years working as a professional and being an adult. Over the past 5 years, I have changed so much. I have a career that I love, the man of my dreams, and a life of my own. I cannot even begin to thank those people in my life that have helped to shape and support me these most recent years. I can't wait to see what these next 5 years have in store. Big changes I'm sure!
Remember when I said that Blake bought me that expensive face mask after I left mine at the hotel in Kingston? Well, that was supposed to be my birthday gift. However, it seemed that Blake had a different plan. Blake had bought us tickets to a very special event in support of the CNIB called "Dining in the Dark". Blake and I have previously been to O'Noir in Toronto, but the experience was ruined for us by an immature friend. So, we were excited to have a more intimate experience. I've spoken before about my grandfather who was blind and how important he was to me. So, I am passionate about anything that I can do to feel closer to him or support the CNIB. The event was held at Hobart's Steakhouse. I have never eaten at this restaurant, so I was eager to try it. Blake and I got all dressed up for our date and headed over. I'm not sure what possessed me to wear a white shirt to an event in which I would be eating steak blind, but I wasn't happy with my other options. Once we arrived at the restaurant, we realized that we had gotten the time wrong and were way too early. The staff had us sit at the bar and we chatted about the upcoming experience. Once it was actually time to start, they had us begin back at the front of the restaurant. When we were at O'Noir, we ate in complete darkness. Therefore, everyone, including the waitstaff, are blind. At "Dining in the Dark", we were merely blindfolded, so it was definitely a different experience. Once we had put on the blindfold, they escorted us to the back of the restaurant where they had dimmed the lights. It was an unusual feeling walking through a restaurant blind, while others were sighted. It felt like everyone was looking at you. They seated us and explained the lay of the land with what was in front of us. Once we were comfortable, we were served our beverages. I had water and Blake had the red wine. The small of the red wine was strangely powerful. It was my first moment of heightened senses.
They event included salad, an entree, and a dessert. We started with the salad, obviously. I had the caesar salad and Blake had an almond orange salad. Eating the salad was probably the hardest dish of the night. It wasn't so much because we were blind, but because our forks just wouldn't pick up the damn lettuce. It took me so long to eat the salad, I thought I'd been given a whole lettuce head! It seemed as if the salad would never end. In hindsight, it was most likely a normal sized salad, but they could have fooled me! Afterwards, we were given a choice of steak, chicken, or fish. We both chose the steak since we were at a steakhouse. The 5oz steak came with roasted baby potatoes, mushrooms, and assorted vegetables. Again, when we were at O'Noir, they had pre-cut all of our food for us to make it easier for us. However, at this particular event, we were on our own. They gave us a steak knife and wished us luck. It was a difficult task, but we managed. It was a slow process since about 50% of the time I put an empty fork up to my mouth. The steak and potatoes were delicious and perfectly cooked. I fed Blake some of my steak so that he could taste the difference between how they were cooked. I wish I could have tasted some of his, but ... it was all gone before I had the chance. Once we had finished our entrees, it was time for dessert. Dessert consisted of a cheesecake and baked caramel apples. It was delightful. We thought that we were given a slice of cheesecake, but upon seeing pictures taken that night, we were actually each given a mini round cheesecake. It was sooo yummy.
At the end of our meal, we were escorted back to the front of the restaurant where we were instructed to remove our blindfolds. Once we had thanked them for our meals, a writer for the local newspaper interviewed us and, then, we headed home. It was a great night supporting an important and personal cause.
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