Spoon #22: Maxwell's

This weekend Ms. Dish and I snuck off to Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey:

Suffering from a lack of cameras at the time, the picture above has been taken from the internet.

Ms. Dish and I actually came to Maxwell's on our first date, but so far we had only been there for the music (they seem to always have the best bands) or drinks.  This was our first opportunity to sample the menu, we are pleased to report that the food is very good! 

Now here is the big news, Spoon Number Twenty-Two:

Yes sir or madame, your eyes do not deceive you; just like Spoon Twenty-One, this is a Qualite Dominion - our first ever direct-swap!  To honor the establishment where this occurrence first took place, I propose we call this a "Maxwell's Swap".

Perhaps of even bigger significance, Spoon 22 breaks our five-way tie for the title of "Most Swapped Spoon"!  The Qualite Dominion is victorious!  How mysterious then that we have still not uncovered any information regarding this spoon or it's maker...

Spoon #21: Old Town

This weekend Ms. Dish and I continued on our old bar kick, swapping at Old Town Bar on 18th Street:

We used to come here all the time.  Old Town is a classic old New York bar, dating back to the prohibition days.  The dumbwaiters, still in regular use, are the oldest in town!  We were so keen on the Old Town as it is not nearly as pretentious as most of these types of bars.  Then maybe a year or two ago we detected a turn for the worse.  The food was not as good... the staff were not as friendly... and the place got crowded.  On Friday though we were in the neighborhood and figured we'd stop in.  To our delight, it was just like we remembered back in the "Good Old Days"!

By the way if you happen in on a hot summer day, be sure to try one of their lemonade and vodkas!  And if you're a guy, you should stop in and check out the giant Hinsdale urinals which recently celebrated their 100th birthday! 

Spoon number 21 came in a bowl of Old Town's famous chili:

A Qualite Dominion, just like Spoon 14.  Now our "Most Swapped Spoon" contest has reached five-way tie!

 - Oneida Baguette
 - Oneida New Rim
 - Winco Continental
 - Winco Stanford
 - Qualite Dominion

At this point I am thinking that the title of "Most Swapped Spoon" may have reached ludicrous proportions; but we've come too far to simply forget about this contest. What next?  A sixth contender?  Or will one of these spoon giants prove victorious?

Spoon #14: BXL East

Worry not Spoon-Swappers - Ms. Dish and I are still on the prowl!  I know it's been a little while, but just this past weekend we excecuted another swap, this time at BXL East:

Ms. Dish and I went to BXL East to celebrate that festival of Belgiumish culture that is cycling's Ronde van Vlaanderen a.k.a. Tour of Flanders.  In between watching Belgium's own Tom Boonen sprint to victory and Fabian Cancellara's quadruple collarbone fracture we enjoyed a delicious taste of Belgiumese cuisine.
Here is our new Spoon Number Fourteen:

Fourteen was a tricky swap, as it is nearly identical to Spoon Thirteen.  It is differentiated by the marking "Qualite Dominion" on the back.  As with Spoon Twelve, I found no information about a "Qualite" manufacturer.  Are they defunct?  Anti-internet?  Also, as with Spoon Twelve, it appears that other manufacturers make a very similar "Dominion" spoon, including ABC Valueline, Walco, and Winco.  Isn't that suspicious?  Is there one huge factory out there somewhere stamping out "Dominion" style spoons with different manufacturer's names on them?  Or if you tell someone in the spoon business that you need a "Dominion" spoon, do they nod knowlingly and pull out a catalog of "Dominion" manufacturers?  And in fact wasn't it Spoon Number 4 that we identified as an ABC Valueline Dominion?  It was!

Spoon #4: Fanelli's Cafe

Five years ago my folks gave me a calendar called "Historic Bars of New York".  As the name implies it featured twelve of New York City's most famous historic bars.  Included were some of the more famous (i.e. McSorley's, P.J. Clarke's, the 21 Club), and some Ms. Dish and I had never heard of before.  Well Ms. Dish and I soon went to work exploring these various bars all throughout the city, and we found the vast majority were just as grand as the calendar implied.  Sadly, Fanelli's Cafe in SoHo was one we had not made it to until yesterday!  We honestly don't venture to SoHo all that often, but we happened to be in the neighborhood (to check out the new REI, if you must know).

We still have the old calendar, which provides a little history on Fanelli's.  Apparently the joint stayed open through prohibition by making wine and bathtub gin in a secret room behind the bar.  Fanelli himself was a boxer/promoter, which explains all the boxing memorabilia stuck on the walls.  All around it was a pretty neat bar with lots of character.  Plenty of old wood, including a built in clock, and only one T.V., which I always appreciate in any non-sports bar. 

And here we have our new Spoon #4:

A stylized "ABC" on the back marks it as a product of ABC Valueline.  A little research indicates that it's from their "Dominion" line:

Other than being pretty easy to remember, ABC apparently stands for Allied Buying Corporation.  They have the rather un-catchy slogan "Your North American Network of Independent Food Service Equipment and Supply Dealers".  The "Stainless Thailand 18CR" stamped on the back of Spoon #4 seem to attest to this spoon's no-nonsense approach.