Opaque: Dining in the Darkfeatured
As featured in SF Weekly, December 22, 2009.
I settled into my seat, threw my leg up on the banquet and got comfy. I felt around for the bread basket and stuck my finger in the butter, once by mistake, the second time because I wanted some butter for my bread. I then made a series of funny faces at my dining partner for good measure.
At any other establishment I would have earned looks of shocked horror and probably a straightjacket fitting. At Opaque, no one looked twice…because there was nothing to see. At Opaque, the dining room is dark beyond imagining.
Originally conceptualized in Germany more than a decade ago, dining in the dark took Europe by storm. Restaurant owner, Benjamin Uphues, brought this unique dining experience to San Francisco in June 2008 and within ten hours of the opening press release, was sold out for three months straight.
As I descended into the Opaque lair, I left all expectations behind. This meal would be all about experiencing in the moment. We were greeted in the dimly lit waiting area where we chose options from the prix fixe menu for the evening. We then met Denise, our legally blind server for the evening (Opaque is the largest employer of the visually impaired in California), and were led choo-choo style into the pitch-black dining room.
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ADDRESSOpaque 689 McAllister St (between Franklin St & Gough St) San Francisco, CA 94102 (800) 710-1270
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Party Perfect Walnut Date Cupsfeatured
These fancy little walnut date cups are the perfect savory-sweet treat for a special holiday brunch or cocktail party. It’s a prettier take on one of my favorite easy appetizers, a nut and blue cheese-stuffed date wrapped in bacon and broiled until crispy and caramelized.
For this dressed up version, the walnut and dates are ground together and combined to form the heart of this delightful bite. The mellow, nutty flavor of the walnuts is brought out by the natural sweetness of the dates, and the orange adds a bright, floral note to the mix. The blue cheese is just pungent enough to bring some depth to the flavors, the candied bacon is pure indulgence, and the phyllo cup is a crispy, edible vessel for it all!
Woo woo! Extra bonus, this recipe/video we made won the Video category in California Walnuts’ Holiday Baking Challenge!!! Thanks, Walnuts 🙂 And extra thanks, Hua, for your videography skills.
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Sweet Potato Biscuitsfeatured
No clever title needed for this post, these three magic words sell themselves: Sweet. Potato. Biscuits.
There are few things more comforting than buttery, sweet, tender, flaky biscuits hot out of the oven. These are man-catcher biscuits. (Feminist disclaimer: sorry, they are.)
I love the simplicity and speed of this recipe. No lengthy rising time or heavy kneading. No fancy gadgets. I literally used a fork to mash and whisk, and my fingers to cut the butter.
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Foodie Holiday Wishlist: Top 10 from the Bay Areafeatured
All I want for Christmas is … not another pair of toe-socks (no offense, Mom) or body lotion/soap set.
The Bay Area is rife with unique eating experiences, culinary talent, and tasty goods made with lots of love. Why not support local businesses, while giving someone a gift they won’t be re-gifting?
(Ahem, for the record, if you do want to re-gift any of these, I’d gladly accept items 1 through 10).
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