5 ridiculously fun, one-of-a-kind dining experiences

If your idea of dining outside the box is eating tacos instead burgers, then it’s time you tried one of these unforgettable American dining experiences. From lunch with an astronaut to snagging a table under San Francisco Bay, these could be some of the most memorable meals you’ll have this year.

Forbes Island

Floating feast: Why dine near San Francisco Bay when you can dine in it? Forbes Island is a man-made floating island with views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and sunbathing California sea lions. This one-of-a-kind dining experience lets you enjoy waterside cocktails in the island’s restaurant, then settle in for American fare like lamb lollipops, wild mushroom risotto and a seafood chowder of the day in the… wait for it… underwater dining room.

Lunch With an Astronaut | Photo: Courtesy of Kennedy Space Center

Out-of-this-world eats: It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Lunch with an Astronaut would be pretty cool. At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, you can nosh on a buffet meal—we’re talking salads, hot entrees and desserts, not astronaut ice cream—while a veteran NASA astronaut shares what it’s like to travel to space. After the talk, he or she will answer the audience’sburning questions about space travel, including, if you must know, how they use the bathroom.

These guys are actually in the middle of a spin cycle | Photo: Courtesy of Harvey Washbangers

Clothes comfort: Anyone who’s ever done laundry in a grimy dorm basement will be jealous of the students at Texas A&M University. Just steps away from the campus in College Station, Texas, is Harvey Washbangers, a Laundromat-slash-pub that offers a full menu so you don’t have to fill up on vending machine garbage. While your clothes are on the spin cycle, order a burger or salad and wash it down with one of the many craft beers on tap. If only every dreaded errand came with good food. (We’re lookin’ at you, DMV.)

Dinners in the Dark at Camaje, New York

Shot in thedark: If you’re unfamiliar with Dinners in the Dark at Camaje Bistro and Lounge in New York City, then allow us to shed some light: Diners are blindfolded upon entry, the idea being that without sight, their other senses are heightened during the multi-course meal. The food and wine menu are kept secret until the end of dinner, so the tastes, scents and textures will seem more intense as diners try to deduce what they’ve been served.

Charlie Russell Chew Choo dinner train

All aboard: Charlie Russell Chew Choo in Lewistown, Montana, gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “ride the gravy train.” Settle in for a 3 1/2-hour train ride through Montana’s rolling hills and prairies as you keep your eyes peeled for wildlife, a spectacular sunset and the occasional masked bandit. Dinner includes prime rib, dessert and a cash bar.