Mystery Meat

I have to admit on more than one occasion in my life, when I have sat down to dinner, it was a mystery as to what I was about to eat. Especially as a hungry dude in college you learn not to be too picky about meal planning. Because usually, chow-time consisted of showing up at the cafeteria to enjoy exactly one of two choices – eating and NOT eating.

So since we had guests in town, we vowed to throw a new twist into the old-fashioned food trough. We are not really that thoughtful as hosts go, it’s just that while we have transient guinea pigs to experiment on we might as well put them to the test right?

Anyway, we booked a visit to a local murder - mystery ‘Who done it’ dinner house. Actually the place was literally a mansion a hundred years ago, so the ambience was great for killing off a victim as well as a tasty meal. If you have not ventured out to try one of these participatory ‘death dinners’, the concept is that while your dinner is being served, a comedic mystery slowly unfolds revealing one of the dinner guests as a murderer. You are given a name-tag of your alter-ego as well as a page of character notes, and/or lines to deliver on cue.

Let me just say the food is a lot better than the script (or our acting), BUT it is enjoyable to join in on the fun and deliver a corny line or two between the salad and the steak. Our entire crew chose to participate and had a great time. So now I have a new appreciation for mystery meat and all that goes into making a play, as well as a fillet. Too bad my guinea pig visitors had to depart suddenly - because it really was a pleasure SERVING THEM!