Dinner with a Side of Show: Entertaining Restaurants and Food Theaters

When you attend Sleuth's "dinner party," you'll spend the evening solving a major mystery as you dine. Orlando's longest-running mystery dinner show lets guests become detectives for a few hours while they fill up on food. The dessert remains a mystery until it's served — unless you really are a super sleuth!

8267 International Dr., Orlando, FL; (407) 363-1985; sleuths.com

In a theatrical restaurant just up the coast from Barcelona, Spain, dinner guests work throughout their meal to reverse a "curse" that's been put on the land upon which they are sitting. This spectacle is part mystery, part magic, and part interactive. To get you through this three-and-a-half-hour event, you and your friends will dine on food from the 35-year-old Blau Verd, which has a menu that includes salad, Spanish potatoes, dessert, and wine. Enjoying the meal helps reverse the curse!

Urb. Santa Rosa dels Pins (ant. Mas Gabana) Torrent Bo, 08358 Arenys de Munt; lamasiaencantada.com

There's a feud in this town, and the opposing sides are two families of loggers. As you dine on mesquite-baked chicken, BBQ ribs, and other Southern delights, the Lumberjacks square off in competitions that have them sawing, climbing, and balancing on logs. The show is based on true events that occurred in the 1930s between the Dawson and McGraw families.

2713 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN; 855-244-3383; lumberjackfeud.com

Pirates fight before your eyes on a recreated 18th-century Spanish galleon. The performers take part in "wizardry, aerial artistry, swashbuckling swordplay," and dueling while watchers enjoy a hearty meal — roast chicken and BBQ pork loin, plus salads and an apple cobbler.

7600 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, CA; (714) 690-1497; piratesdinneradventureca.com

Sexy "nurses" at the Heart Attack Grill prescribe single, double, triple, or quadruple bypass burgers for "patients" at this dining spot. If a patient weighs 350 or more pounds, he or she gets to eat for free. The restaurant's tagline is "taste worth dying for!" which, given the obesity epidemic, seems to walk a fine line between joking and sincere branding. Customers are required to wear patient gowns while they eat. The premise may be controversial, but the restaurant does not suffer from a lack of walk-in "patients."

450 Fremont St., Las Vegas, NV; heartattackgrill.com

This restaurant offers Dracula-themed dinner shows, transporting guests to medieval Romania and taking them through the Count's story. Will you empathize with Dracula, who searches for his long lost wife, Elisabeta? Or will you be too entranced by the Transylvanian chicken with smoked plums to notice?

Splaiul Independentei nr. 8A, Sector 5, Bucuresti, Romania; 021/3121353; count-dracula.ro

Burgers and shakes have helped define Chicago's Ed Debevic's since 1984, but that's not all the restaurant has to offer. This establishment is modeled after 50s-era diners, featuring a waitstaff dressed in clothes from the time period who will get up on top of the tables to dance and sing for your enjoyment. The restaurant offers traditional diner food, like burgers, hot dogs, and meatloaf sandwiches, but it has managed to evolve with the times and also offers vegetarian and turkey burger options, too.

640 North Wells St., Chicago, IL; (312) 664-1707; eddebevics.com

Maori, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand, welcome you into an authentic recreation of a Maori village, where you learn their ancient customs, rituals, and legends. As you explore the village, Maori descendants will teach you traditional dances, games meant to increase battle preparedness, and horticultural practices. After a song and dance show, you'll enjoy a meal of meats and vegetables prepared in the traditional Maori way — steamed under the earth on hot rocks for hours.

1220 Hinemaru St., Rotorua, New Zealand; +64 (0)7 349 2999; maoriculture.co.nz

Looking for some sizzle? How about some dazzle? Teatro Zinzanni offers both. Part circus, part dinner theatre, and "always magical," Teatro Zinzanni promises a "night out unlike any other!" Thank goodness for their extensive gourmet meal, including "Apertivo," "Sopa," Ensalada," a main course, and a "Postre," because you need proper fuel for this three-hour show. It's got comedy, cabaret, circus, curtain changes, vaudeville revue, music, and dance! One visit may not be enough; the show reportedly changes every night.

222 Mercer Street Seattle, WA 98109; dreams.zinzanni.org

"Prohibition has caused nothing but trouble," Al Capone famously said. In this saloon, guests are transported back to the prohibition era, but spirits are definitely not prohibited. Diners are escorted to tables by mobsters, "dames," and other characters from the show. They witness a performance by glamorous ladies and tough mobsters while enjoying an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. Don't hesitate to bring your children — this performance is suitable for all ages.

4740 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Parkway (Highway 192), Kissimmee, FL; 1-800-220-8428; alcapones.com

You don't have to suffer in a stuffy restaurant to enjoy four amazing courses. The Dinner Detective, with locations in California, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, and Wisconsin, is an interactive, sit-down dinner during which guests help solve a murder mystery. All of the performers, however, are dressed like everyone else; you could be sitting next to the killer. Throughout the night, "mayhem" occurs, clues pop up, and detectives amble around trying to help solve the mystery. There is a prize package for the "Top Sleuth," so get out your magnifying glass, Sherlock, and start solving the mystery!

thedinnerdetective.com