November 7th, 2009:
Bodies Exhibit and Chez Shea
Bodies Exhibit and Chez Shea
She Said:
So this weekend, Brett and I decided to take our own dating advice. We both love gross things. We both love bodies. We both love the show Grey's Anatomy. We both love downtown Seattle. We both love beef jerky. We both love Monster Trucks. SO, where can you find all of these things minus the Monster Trucks in one place? Why, the Bodies Exhibit of course!
Saturday night, we headed down to 5th and Pike Street (the old Adidas building across from Banana Republic) and, for $19/per person, gained access to some of the most gruesome and awesome sights of our lives.
We went into this exhibit with only minimal knowledge: We knew that it was a display of once-alive human bodies. We knew we would have access to sights that most people don't get to see without an MD... or jail time. We knew that there was some controversy surrounding the exhibit. Apart from that, we didn't know much. The space was small but held a ton of information. About 7 or 8 full human bodies posed in positions that showed how the muscles and bones and joints work... They had on display black lungs, a cirrhosis liver, a breast tumor, both sets of reproductive organs, gall stones... It had an entire section that showed the nervous system (no idea how they did this... was amazing) and of course, the famous 'body slice' guy...well, a couple of them.
WOW.
Was pretty amazing. VERY gross, but also pretty amazing to see the insides of my body. There was also a booth where you could go and actually FEEL some of the body parts. Yes, Brett and i held brains and liver. We immediately sanitized the bejeesus out of our hands...
...Before heading out to eat dinner!
Brett's original plan for dinner was Sushi. I however, had some apprehension on eating Sushi after seeing what we were going to see ... Once he'd been through the exhibition, Brett agreed. So instead, we decided to wander down Pike Street towards the Market.
We settled for French food at Chez Shea instead (thank GOD!).
We were able to snag the last table in the lounge (lucky... we didn't have reservations and it was 8.30 on a Saturday night!). Chez Shea is a cute little French bistro located above the Pike Place Market. It is small and cozy. The wait staff is super friendly.
We ordered a half-carafe of wine each (Brett the red, me the white) for only $5 per (they each hold about 2 glasses of wine). The white was beautiful! I ordered my meal from the special 2+1 for $25 menu, and got mussels, a crab salad, and small cheese plate. Brett ordered the rack of lamb ($29). Our bread and herb-infused oil arrived and we dug in.
We started to talk about the Bodies exhibit and how we thought it was strange that all the bodies were all clearly of Chinese descent. This of COURSE made Brett want to research it instantly, so he whipped out Wikipedia on his iPhone.
We soon learned that the Bodies exhibit that we had attended was one of two Bodies exhibits touring the world. One (Body World) used full-consenting donors for the bodies displays. The other (Bodies, the Exhibition... the one we went to) was rumored to have used bodies who were once Chinese prisoners that had been executed. And sold to the exhibit. Without consent. On the Black Market. For $300.
Brett and I were flabbergasted! We couldn't' believe what we were reading. It made the whole experience that we had just been through all that more creepy and gruesome!
Brett seriously couldn't shake the feeling. Until, of course our mussels arrived.
(Yes, i started making EXTREMELY crude jokes about 'mussels' ... and the bodies we had just seen... to where Brett almost punched me in the face across the table.)
But all jokes aside, the mussels were AMAZING. They were in a warm butter broth with chunks of chorrizo. The combination of the spicy chorrizo, the salty mussels and the rich broth worked magically together.
Brett's lamb arrived along with my crab salad. Neither of us were overly impressed. Brett was expecting more than just two small pieces of lamb for the $29. My crab salad was tiny and not very flavorful... and it took quite a while for us to get our food. The waitress (she was very sweet!) had to apologize twice for the wait. No matter, we weren't in a hurry. But just make note of that if you're headed to a show or a movie or Showgirls afterwards.
We finished the meal with a small cheese plate that was part of my 2+1 for $25 dish, and Brett had an espresso. We nibbled on 3 amazing cheeses and finished our wine. The bill came and there was a mistake on it (they had charged us for 2 of the 2+1 for $25 AND for Brett's lamb) so we alerted the waitress and she was mortified. Made the change immediately.
We left full and satisfied, and headed home after an interesting evening.
I highly recommend seeing the Bodies Exhibit, even though it did leave both Brett and me feeling a bit dirty.
However, there isn't a lot of opportunity in life to see what we saw on Saturday night... we learned a lot, and i can say it is one of the most memorable Date Nights I've ever had!! (A tip, though -- do NOT go to Sushi for dinner afterwards!)
**Also of note! Chez Shea is participating in this month's Dine Around Seattle: 3 Course Meals for $30! Check out their offerings here!
So this weekend, Brett and I decided to take our own dating advice. We both love gross things. We both love bodies. We both love the show Grey's Anatomy. We both love downtown Seattle. We both love beef jerky. We both love Monster Trucks. SO, where can you find all of these things minus the Monster Trucks in one place? Why, the Bodies Exhibit of course!
Saturday night, we headed down to 5th and Pike Street (the old Adidas building across from Banana Republic) and, for $19/per person, gained access to some of the most gruesome and awesome sights of our lives.
We went into this exhibit with only minimal knowledge: We knew that it was a display of once-alive human bodies. We knew we would have access to sights that most people don't get to see without an MD... or jail time. We knew that there was some controversy surrounding the exhibit. Apart from that, we didn't know much. The space was small but held a ton of information. About 7 or 8 full human bodies posed in positions that showed how the muscles and bones and joints work... They had on display black lungs, a cirrhosis liver, a breast tumor, both sets of reproductive organs, gall stones... It had an entire section that showed the nervous system (no idea how they did this... was amazing) and of course, the famous 'body slice' guy...well, a couple of them.
WOW.
Was pretty amazing. VERY gross, but also pretty amazing to see the insides of my body. There was also a booth where you could go and actually FEEL some of the body parts. Yes, Brett and i held brains and liver. We immediately sanitized the bejeesus out of our hands...
...Before heading out to eat dinner!Brett's original plan for dinner was Sushi. I however, had some apprehension on eating Sushi after seeing what we were going to see ... Once he'd been through the exhibition, Brett agreed. So instead, we decided to wander down Pike Street towards the Market.
We settled for French food at Chez Shea instead (thank GOD!).
We were able to snag the last table in the lounge (lucky... we didn't have reservations and it was 8.30 on a Saturday night!). Chez Shea is a cute little French bistro located above the Pike Place Market. It is small and cozy. The wait staff is super friendly.
We ordered a half-carafe of wine each (Brett the red, me the white) for only $5 per (they each hold about 2 glasses of wine). The white was beautiful! I ordered my meal from the special 2+1 for $25 menu, and got mussels, a crab salad, and small cheese plate. Brett ordered the rack of lamb ($29). Our bread and herb-infused oil arrived and we dug in.
We started to talk about the Bodies exhibit and how we thought it was strange that all the bodies were all clearly of Chinese descent. This of COURSE made Brett want to research it instantly, so he whipped out Wikipedia on his iPhone.We soon learned that the Bodies exhibit that we had attended was one of two Bodies exhibits touring the world. One (Body World) used full-consenting donors for the bodies displays. The other (Bodies, the Exhibition... the one we went to) was rumored to have used bodies who were once Chinese prisoners that had been executed. And sold to the exhibit. Without consent. On the Black Market. For $300.
Brett and I were flabbergasted! We couldn't' believe what we were reading. It made the whole experience that we had just been through all that more creepy and gruesome!
Brett seriously couldn't shake the feeling. Until, of course our mussels arrived.(Yes, i started making EXTREMELY crude jokes about 'mussels' ... and the bodies we had just seen... to where Brett almost punched me in the face across the table.)
But all jokes aside, the mussels were AMAZING. They were in a warm butter broth with chunks of chorrizo. The combination of the spicy chorrizo, the salty mussels and the rich broth worked magically together.
Brett's lamb arrived along with my crab salad. Neither of us were overly impressed. Brett was expecting more than just two small pieces of lamb for the $29. My crab salad was tiny and not very flavorful... and it took quite a while for us to get our food. The waitress (she was very sweet!) had to apologize twice for the wait. No matter, we weren't in a hurry. But just make note of that if you're headed to a show or a movie or Showgirls afterwards.
We finished the meal with a small cheese plate that was part of my 2+1 for $25 dish, and Brett had an espresso. We nibbled on 3 amazing cheeses and finished our wine. The bill came and there was a mistake on it (they had charged us for 2 of the 2+1 for $25 AND for Brett's lamb) so we alerted the waitress and she was mortified. Made the change immediately.
We left full and satisfied, and headed home after an interesting evening.I highly recommend seeing the Bodies Exhibit, even though it did leave both Brett and me feeling a bit dirty.
However, there isn't a lot of opportunity in life to see what we saw on Saturday night... we learned a lot, and i can say it is one of the most memorable Date Nights I've ever had!! (A tip, though -- do NOT go to Sushi for dinner afterwards!)
RATINGS:
Romance: Bodies exhibit: 2/Chez Shea: 5
Cool Ambiance/Interior: Both: 4
All Around Service: Chez Shea: Slow service, but very friendly: 3
Cost: Bodies exhibit: $19ea/Chez Shea: ~$35ea
Would we recommend it? 4: Yes on both, but keep an open mind.
Romance: Bodies exhibit: 2/Chez Shea: 5
Cool Ambiance/Interior: Both: 4
All Around Service: Chez Shea: Slow service, but very friendly: 3
Cost: Bodies exhibit: $19ea/Chez Shea: ~$35ea
Would we recommend it? 4: Yes on both, but keep an open mind.
3 comments:
We are actually going to see Bodies tomorrow night. I am excited for it, but my boyfriend is a little hesitant. I am taking an Anatomy & Physiology class right now, so it will be on the educational side for me, which is from where my excitement stems.
And yes, we may have to rethink out dinner plans after...sushi was on the itinerary!
We have been to Bodies too. They're back in town? Pretty amazing exhibit!
I tweeted about this rad post! If I don't get a chance to check it out myself, thanks for the look behind the scenes!
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