Spoon #45: Sullivan Bistro

Swap number 45 went down at the Sullivan Bistro, just north of Houston:

Ever since REI moved into the neighborhood, Ms. Dish and I find ourselves swapping in this area more and more often.  The Sullivan Bistro was the perfect place to relax after purchasing recreational equipment from our fellow cooperative members.

Marked, "Winco Stainless 18-0", spoon number 45 looks like it's from Winco's "Dots" collection.  Another interesting note, spoon 45 is also missing the "8 in circle" just like we saw with Spoon 38!

Spoon #44: Gentleman Farmer

Ms. Dish and I recently went on another road trip up to the vicinity of Providence, Rhode Island.  On our return back home we were famished for some breakfast and found just what we were looking for at the Gentleman Farmer:

This was a great breakfast joint that allowed us the good fortune of swapping Spoon #44:

Number 44 is marked "Qualite Windsor".  Although the Qualite brand is still a mystery to us, it does seem to display quite similar styling to the Sysco Windsor that we swapped as Spoon 42.  This continues what I see as a very perplexing phenomenon of multiple companies producing similar spoons with the same name.  Remember the "Dominion" line?  What exactly is going on here?  Are these knockoff spoons?  Where do these styles and trends originate?  To track these cases, I have added a "Loeffelganger" category until we get to the bottom of things.  Much credit to Ursa Minor for coining this term, a combination of the German words Loeffel, for spoon, and Doppelganger, meaning "double goer".  "Spoon-goer" doesn't make much sense, but you get the point!

Goldilocks'd in Spain

Next and final stop on our 'round the world voyage was Spain, Europe!  Ms. Dish and I attempted two swaps while in Spain, both in the beautiful town of Tarifa.  Tarifa is small town on the very southernmost tip of Spain.  Recently Tarifa's pristine beaches have become a mecca for kite-boarders!

They were everywhere, and it definitely changed my impression of kiteboarding from "kind of dorky" to "kind of cool". 

Attempted Swap Number One took place at La Trattoria:

We quickly found that Coffee in Spain is usually served in a small cup accompanied by a tiny coffee spoon.  Unfortunately, we were still packing a large Chicago-style soup spoon, so we found ourselves Goldilocks'd.  Fortunately the food at La Trattoria was very good!

Attempted Swap Number Two was down the street at Cafe Babel:

Here we sampled a number of delicious 'tapas', though again we were Goldilocks'd by the tiny coffee spoon!  I suppose we were simply not meant to swap spoons in Spain...

Spoon #43: The Berghoff

The second stop on world tour was another Chicago landmark: The Berghoff:

I will admit that Ms. Dish did not do our homework, and we knew very little about the Berghoff when we stepped inside.  We were merely enchanted by the glow of their giant neon sign.  Quickly we learned what a special place this is.  The Berghoff was opened in 1898 by Herman Berghoff as a cafe to showcase the beer that he and his brothers brewed.  The cafe survived Prohibition serving what is now sold as their "root beer".  Following the repeal of prohibition, ther Berghoff was issued prestigious Liquor License #1!  Despite this long history, the Berghoff did breifly close its doors in 2005, however it has recently been reopned by Carlyn Berghoff, representing the fourth generation of Berghoffs to operate the restaurant. 

As we often declare, history is great... but how's the food?  Ms. Dish and I are pleased to announce that it is fantastic!  Spoon 43 accompanied a bowl of "Alsatian Onion and Apple Soup" which was the perfect sustenance for trudging the streets of Chicago.
 

Spoon 43 is another distinctly soupish spoon, marked only "!8/8 Stainless China".  Not a lot to go on, so we will have to consider it "unidentified"

Spoon #42: Lou Malnati's

Recently Ms. Dish and I headed out on the road again, for a 'round the world journey!  First stop: Chicago:

And when in Chicago, you have to get the deep dish!  So off we went to Chicago's famous Lou Malnati's:

(Street View)

Let me tell you, this place was packed!  Yes it was no secret that Lou's is a "go to" for Chicago style deep dish.  And of course with a swap on our minds, Ms. dish and I had to be resourceful.  Obviously we would have looked out of place asking for a spoon to eat our pizza with, and with no soup on the menu, we resorted to coffee.  Our surly yet honest waiter advised it was pretty terrible, but we were desperate!  The first sip confirmed the warnings, but we were rewarded with Spoon 42:

Again we were in a tricky spot as Spoon 42 is very "soup spoon" in appearance.  However, rather than get Goldilocks'd out of Lou Malnati's we took a chance and made the swap.  Number 42 is marked "258 5619358 SYSCO".  That's a lot of information!  

Not having swapped A Sysco spoon before, let's do a little research.  Sysco, or Systems and Services Company is a huge multi-national Fortune 500 company doing about 44 Billion Dollars in annual sales.  And according to their website it all started in 1970 with a promise:  "to assist foodservice operators in providing consumers with solutions for meals consumed away from home".  I'm sure spoon sales are just a drop in the bucket for Sysco, but you can tell they are a very businesslike enterprise.  Why just type in "5619358" in their catalog and out pops all the information you need on Spoon 42: 

Ah the Sysco Windsor:  A perfect solution for high-volume, fast-paced dining.  The perfect fit for Lou Malnati's! 

Stay tuned as we hit one more Chicago landmark before continuing this 'round the world journey!

Spoon #41: Taby's

A little while back Ms. Dish and I, along with Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Ursa Minor all ventured out to Oyster Bay, Long Island.  Our objective was to meet up with the legendary Captain Pete and go for a pleasuresail on famed oyster sloop, The Christeen:

After a full day of tacking, reaching, luffing, and heeling, the whole crew was famished so we headed on over to Oyster Bay institution, Taby's Burger House:

Taby's is famous for their burgers, but take a tip from me - try the milkshakes!  Delicious!

We walked out with new Spoon 41:

Number 41 is marked "WALCO STAINLESS CHINA 18-0", and appears to be from the Walco Barclay collection:

It's been a little while since we swapped a Walco spoon, so let's see what they're up to... Holy Cow, look at this!

The new Royal Bristol Cheese Knife!  According to Walco this knife features "the perfect serration for any cheese. It also has the traditional fork tip for serving the piece after cut".  Imagine one of those in the hands of Captain Pete!  Oysters beware!

Things to Do with a Spoon: Play It!

A single spoon doesn't make too much noise, but if you have a buddy spoon-swapper you can take turns playing them!  David Holt makes it look easy:

Spoon #40: Canyon Creek

As I alluded to in the last post, Ms. Dish and I recently spent some time in Niagara Falls, Canada.  A little road trip such as this was sure to present plenty of swaportunities!  International swaportunities no less!

Never having been to Niagara Falls, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Personally I had it in my mind that these falls were off in the woods somewhere... maybe we'd take a tram to get there like at the Grand Canyon... As it turns out it's right in the middle of town, surrounded by hotels, restaurants and casinos.  Here's a view from the Canadian side:

So, with a "when in Rome" mentality, Ms. Dish and I decided to join the throngs of tourists and head to the local casino for a steak at Canyon Creek.  Unfortunately we forgot to take a picture, and since Canyon Creek is in a casino, we can't resort to our usual practice of using Google Streetview.  You will have to use your imagination.


Turns out there are half a dozen Canyon Creeks throughout Ontario, but I wouldn't label it a "chain restaurant".  The food was quite good, and the service had a very "professional" feel to it.  We counted the number of times we saw the manager walk past to make sure everything was in order, inquiring at each table if the guests were having a good time.  This is great for your dining experience, but a bit nervewracking for a Spoon Swapper.  Surely a man such as this will notice a foreign or out of place spoon!  Luck was with us, however, and we escaped unharmed carrying a brand new Spoon #40 to the casino floor:

Spoon 40 is marked "Oneida Barcelona" and "24-12" near the bowl.

Here's a picture of a Barcelona spoon with the rest of the gang:

And here's what Oneida has to say about their offering:

Smooth, rounded curves taper to slender shafts, giving Barcelona a warm, comfortable feel. The perfectly polished, tear-drop shaped handle feels as good in the hand as it looks on your tables.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

Now what to make of this 24-12 marking?  Number markings such as this have been seen on many Oneida spoons, and in the past I have speculated that it could be a date, but 24-12 blows that theory right out of the water! 

Final order of business, in researching Spoon 40, I discovered Oneida has created an online "Virtual Table", which customers can use to mock up potential table settings.  Real cutting edge stuff! 

Spoon #39: Flying Saucer

When you hear the words "Niagara Falls", one image comes to mind.  Of course, I am referring to the Flying Saucer Diner:

Naturally when Ms. Dish and I pulled into Niagara Falls, Canada a week or so ago, we had to see this landmark.

In all honesty, the best part of the Flying Saucer Diner is that there were locals eating there.  An oasis, in a otherwise very touristy town!

Credit goes to Ms. Dish for talking me out of the "E.T. Special", which includes all of two pancakes, three eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, home fries, and Texas toast!  A deal at $8.99 (Canadian). 

Here's our new intergalactic Spoon Number 39:

It's an out-of-this-world Oneida model, marked "CHINA 02-07".  This futuristic spoon has an air of mystery about it as I could not uncover any other information.  We'll keep looking though... the truth is out there! 

Spoon #38: Sapthagiri

The diet is over!  Let the swapping resume!

Just this past week, Ms. Dish and I were visited by our friends from the West, Lefty and Righty.  Since L&R are vegetarians, we decided to take them to India Square in Jersey City for some vegetarian Indian food.  We found ourselves at Sapthagiri:

I really like Sapthagiri in that it is exotic to a guy like me, but still very welcoming.  It certainly did not hurt that on this trip we had Righty with us, who knows his way around an Indian menu.  He went to work ordering and as dish after dish came out from the kitchen each seemed progressively more delicious.  I hate to even bring it up, but the most surprising part of the night may have been the check which was about half of what we were expecting! 

If you're like me, you may be wondering what "Sapthagiri" means.  According to The Internet, it is a hill in Tirumala, India consisting of seven peaks.  The peaks are taken to represent the seven heads of the deity Adisesha. 
 

Aside from being a vegetarian's paradise, Sapthagiri is also a spoon-swappers paradise, as each dish comes with its own spoon.  Here is our new Spoon number 38:

Marked "Winco Stainless 18-0", this looks like a Winco "Dots" spoon, just like #35.  38 is just a little different in that the "Mysterious Winco 8" at the bowl is not in a circle.

Stay tuned Spoon-swappers, as Ms. Dish and I have a bit of a road trip planned!  

Spoon #37: The Odeon

Well not long after Ms. Dish and I went on our new diet, we decided to break our diet, visiting The Odeon in TriBeCa.  Ordinarily we would have felt very guilty about doing so, but we both agreed this was one of the best meals we'd ever had.

Initially attracted by their classy neon sign, we had no idea that The Odeon is apparently something of a legend among the hip.  This was surprising as the place was not "hip" but just classy and unpretentious, not to mention an incredibly satisfying place to break your diet.

And here's a surprise - Spoon #37 is a new make!

Marked with the exotic name "Arcoroc" and "18-10", Spoon Thirty-Seven appears to be from the Vesca collection:

Arcoroc, it turns out, is a division of Arc International, a French manufacturer that dates back to 1825.  The company was founded as a glass-making outfit and is still well known for their glassware.  According to Wikipedia, Arc re-invests 3% of their turnover into Research & Development.  To the layman you might wonder what is left to R&D regarding glassware, but check out their "Effervescence Plus" concept - champagne flutes that make the bubbles last longer!  Or how about "Slide Control" - glasses with silicone seals on the bottom so they don't slide off your tray!  What a time to be alive! 

Spoon #36: South's

Well Spoon Swappers, I know this 'blog has been cold the past few weeks.  In fact, this swap happened well over a month ago!  The reason swaps have been few and far between lately is that Ms. Dish and I are on a diet!  Yes, the high life of dining and swapping is mighty fine, but every once in a while we all need to take a step back to re-fresh.  More swaps to come though - I promise!

Spoon 36 was swapped at Souths in TriBeCa.  A pressing downpour caused us to once again completely forget to take a picture for our records, so we must settle for a Street-View.

Ducking in from the rain, we found Souths to be the perfect refuge on a nasty Spring evening.  Cold beer, great food and a friendly atmosphere - who could ask for more?

This swap almost didn't happen as Spoon 36 was on the verge of being "too big".  I believe it came in a bowl of French Onion soup.  We were desperate, however, and made our move.  Here we have it:

Spoon 36 is only includes the markings "STAINLESS STEEL CHINA", so although we know what it's made of and what country it came from, that's about it! We'll have to toss it in the "Unidentified" bin.

Things to Do with a Spoon: Balance it on Your Nose!

Here is an excellent tutorial on a skill that every spoon-swapper should possess:

 

"How to Hang a Spoon on your Nose" via wikiHow.

Spoon #35: The Diner

The Diner:

Its name says it all!  And so last week when Ms. Dish and I found ourselves in the uber-trendy Meatpacking District, we got exactly what we expected at The Diner, and some fine people-watching to boot!

Here we have our new spoon, which I believe came with a slice of apple pie a la mode:

Marked "Winco Stainless 18-0" with the Winco "circle 8" at the bowl, this is a Winco spoon we have not seen before.  The internet reveals that it is from Winco's "Dots" collection:

Finally a spoon name that makes some sense!  Just as "The Diner" perfectly describes the restaurant, "Dots" perfectly describes this spoon!  

Oneida: The Band

Hey, did you know there's a band out there called Oneida?  You probably did because you are more hip than I!  Yes, it was maybe a year ago that I stumbled into a local record store, and among the other cards with band names that I have ignored or not noticed countless times, there is was: Oneida!  "Ah, a spoon band!" I thought to myself, and promptly looked them up when I got home.  I am pleased to announce that Oneida the band produce beautiful noise:

And live too!

Spoon #34: Freemans Restaurant

Just off Rivington Street is Freeman's Alley:

And hidden away at the end of Freeman's Alley is Freemans Restaurant:

On a mysterious tip, Ms. Dish and I decided to sneak in for dinner not too long ago.  As the website says, "the idea of the restaurant was to make rugged clandestine colonial American tavern" and well, that's about as good a description of Freemans as any! The motif seems to be "hip backwoods cabin" from the pewter bar to the collection of animal heads/antlers.

If you stop in I would have to recommend, as was recommended to us, that you try the artichoke dip and the "devils on horseback".  These seem to be some of the most popular dishes, as we saw several walk past our table.  Our anonymous tipster was correct - everything was de-licious!

Now what type of spoon do you suspect we swapped at Freemans?  Well, here it is:

The popular Winco Continental!  Not too much to say about this one - simply marked "Winco Stainless 18-0" with the "mysterious circle-8" toward the bowl.  Like running into an old friend in an exotic location.

Spoon #33: The Davenport Press

Not too long ago Miss Dish and I went out with Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Ursa Minor to celebrate Mama Bear's annual birthday.  Of course M.D. and I chose to include a swap to make things interesting.  Our target - the Davenport Press in Mineola, Long Island, New York:

Now here's a place with some history!  The building dates back to 1862 but the Davenport Press has been a restaurant since 1976.  Before that is was, as you might have guessed, a printing press!  And even before that it was a bank.  Would you keep your money here? 

The whole gang had a real great meal and walked away with a newly swapped spoon:

Spoon number 33's markings give it away as an ADCRAFT brand spoon.  Looks to me like it's from their "Avalon" collection:

Avalon, where according to legend King Arthur's Excalibur was forged!  What a fine name for a spoon! 

Spoon #32: Cafe Orlin

Just down the street from Cafe Mogador, which we visited in Spoon Swap #2, is Cafe Orlin.

Both restaurants serve up fantastic Moroccan/Mediterranean cuisine, and it's always a tough call when Ms. Dish and I try to decide between the two.

Between slinging our usual hummus and baba ganoush we swapped out old spoon 31 for our brand new spoon number 32:

Number 32 is marked "21 UPDATE STAINLESS CHINA".  Well it's about time we had a new spoon company to look into!  Let's see what this "21 Update" is all about...

Update appears to refer to Update International, which has been "offering quality products to the world of Beverage and Foodservice for more than 30 years".  And all that hard work has certainly paid off, as Update International is now America's leading importer of Airpots and Servers!  What's an "Airpot" you ask?  It's one of these things: 

You know... for coffee!

Searching Update's extensive catalog, it looks like Spoon 32 is from their "Claridge" line: 

Spoon #31: Yum Yum

Hello Spoon Swappers!  And Happy New Year!  This really has been a delayed post... would you believe this swap took place before Thanksgiving?  After a long hiatus, let's get back into the swing of things.

Spoon Number Thirty-One was swapped at Yum Yum Bangkok on Ninth Street:

Now I should specify that Miss Dish and I went to Yum Yum Number 1.  Just down the street you'll run into Yum Yum III:

And across the street from III is Yum Yum Too:

What's going on with these Ninth Street Yum Yums?  It seems that they must be linked... but isn't it odd that they all have different websites?  I've even heard rumors of a fourth Yum Yum in the area! 

Well it was at Yum Yum Bangkok Number 1 that Miss Dish and I swapped Spoon Number 31:

A little research shows this spoon to be from Winco's Toulouse series:

Which appears to be virtually identical to the Qualite Fanfare series that we saw in Spoon 12.  How spoon companies come up with these names is a mystery. Fanfare to one may be Toulouse to another;  and with such similar spoons are they just copying one another's designs?  And isn't Toulouse a strange name for a flatware series?  Well why don't you take a look at this:

Yes our resource The Virtual Absinthe Museum indicates that this design above is believed by some to be from a series of absinthe spoons designed by famed artist Toulouse Loutrec himself! 

And what is an "absinthe spoon"?  Well, taking from Wikipedia verbatim:

A perforated or slotted spoon is used to dissolve a sugar cube in a glass of absinthe, usually to sweeten the drink and counteract its mild bitterness. The bowl of the spoon is normally flat, with a notch in the handle where it rests on the rim of the glass. Originating circa the 1860s, absinthe spoons were often stamped with brand names or logos as advertising, much like modern alcohol paraphernalia. Sometimes they were sold as tourist items; for example, some might be shaped like the Eiffel tower, for example the spoon Eiffel Tower #7, which was made for the inauguration of the building in the year 1889.

So now we can clearly see the slotted openings in the Toulouse Loutrec spoon above, design cues which have been carried over to the Winco Toulouse and Qualite Fanfare series.