Would you eat blindfolded? Kendall’s Chef Adrianne wants you to try dining in the dark

Put on your blindfold and pick up your fork, and try really hard not to drop anything in your lap.

But don’t be too hard on yourself if you do. At Dark Dining at Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Bar in Kendall, mistakes are made, and that’s OK. The point isn’t to be perfect; it’s to rob yourself of the most dominant sense (sight) and rely on others (smell, touch, taste) to propel you through a five-course menu during which you don’t know what’s coming and must place all of your trust in the chef.

Event dining has long been popular in Miami — chef collaborations, brand mashups, meals designed to complement certain wines or liquor — but even by those standards Dark Dining has had a remarkable run. Chef Adrianne Calvo, who opened Chef Adrianne’s in Kendall in 2007, has been hosting the monthly event for 16 years, and at the rate it sells out, she could easily host it for 16 more.

“I love it as much as my guests,” says Calvo, who opened Chef Adrianne’s when she was just 22. “I have just as good of a time as they do.”

There have been other attempts to blindfold diners and put them in darkened rooms to experience eating in this potentially anxiety-producing manner. But they haven’t caught on the way the event has at Chef Adrianne’s, which benefits from a remarkably loyal clientele from Kendall (and beyond).

Because Chef Adrianne and her restaurant are so popular — she won last year’s Miami Herald’s popular Chef Showdown — veering from menu favorites is always a gamble. But creating a monthly event highlighting the cuisine of a different region, most recently Majorca, provides Calvo with the opportunity to create something new.

“It gives me the freedom to explore,” she explains. “Chef Adrianne’s is a new American restaurant inspired by the Napa Valley, but when I do all these regions and themes, it gives me the chance to let my peacock show.”

Here’s how Dark Dining works: You show your reservation confirmation to the hostess, then wait to be led to your table (you can definitely grab a drink at the bar at this time, if you so desire). One important factor to remember: Dark Dining takes place on Chef Adrianne’s patio, so you’ll be dining outdoors. This time of year, you’re not going to want to overdress.

But surprisingly, the fans keep the heat at bay for the most part. And despite the fact that it’s still light out when the meal starts, the blindfolds will have you believing night has fallen even if the sun hasn’t dropped below Kendall’s Love Lock Bridge.

The menus and regions represented are always different: Calvo says she has never repeated a theme. For the Majorca night, the menu included a hearty vegetable stew (a few potatoes may have found their way under the table); bruschetta with olives and chorizo (the latter was a surprise); beautifully cooked white fish with scalloped potatoes; flavorful pork served with frisee (curly endive); and, for dessert, a delicate ensaimada, a pastry that’s a specialty of the island.

Of course, diners who were diligent about keeping on their masks had no idea what was coming. Guided by stealthy servers murmuring, “There’s a glass to your right,” or “you should use the spoon,” they had to find the bowl or plate and work discreetly to get the bites into their mouths with minimum spillage.

Not knowing what you’re eating, as it turns out, is a lively conversation stimulator. What’s that flavor? Is that pork or beef? Is there cheese on that fish (no)? At the end of each course, Calvo appears to describe each dish to delighted and surprised “aaahs.”

Not every diner, naturally, keeps the mask on between courses, the siren song of the cell phone being too strong for some to truly embrace the spirit of the event. You might miss an important text about junk cars, after all. But most everyone scrambles to pull their masks back up when the servers return, trying to appreciate what Calvo is doing here.

The experience is best when you focus on it, leaving phones in pockets or purses. Calvo believes that’s part of what brings people back to Dark Dining: the chance to wonder, to actually marvel at textures and flavors without needless interruption.

“I think it’s an experience that people want more as we progress in time,” she says. “Our society is in front of smart phones and information is constantly thrown in your face, photos, videos. We’re fed this stuff all day long. When you go to Dark Dining, you’re forced to use your imagination. You might feel vulnerable, but the adventurous side always comes out.”

Dark Dining

Where: Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Bar, The Palms at Town & Country, 11715 Sherry Lane, Miami

Daily hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

Next Dark Dining event: Dark Dining New Orleans, Sept. 4

Tickets: $100 for five-course meal and two wine pairings; chefadriannes.com

More information: 305-408-8386