Spoon #9: The Milleridge Inn

This past Sunday the whole family, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Baby Brother Bear, Ms. Dish and myself all went out to the Milleridge Inn in Jericho, New York to celebrate Mama Bear’s birthday! 

When I was a boy growing up in the pine barrens and potato fields of Long Island, the Milleridge Inn always had a certain mystique about it.  A mysterious place that was very “adult”, very “fancy”.  The kind of place your parents went for their anniversary, or for company holiday dinners.  When “Milleridge” was mentioned, you knew you would be spending the evening at your grandparents!  In fact, it was only five or six years ago that I was actually invited to join my folks at Milleridge for the first time, and its secrets were revealed.

The Milleridge Inn is old!  Circa 1672 old!  Their website has a detailed history outlining major miletsones, from the original construction in 1672, to its first use as a roadside stopping point by Elias Hicks in 1783, to the boom brought about by the newly constructed Jericho Turnpike in 1815.  With these milestones the building was repurposed, remodeled, or added to.  What you see when you go inside is like a patchwork quilt of various eras, from the original fireplace now well over 300 years old, to the more recently added neon sign in front. 

So how does this all compare to the image of Milleridge when I was young?  Well… it is adult, it is fancy, but it is most certainly not pretentious.  It’s the type of place that changes, but so slowly you don’t notice until plenty of time has passed – just like Mama Bear and Papa Bear!

Here now we have Spoon #9, which very proudly bears the WALCO mark:

Since this is our first Walco spoon, we might as well look into their company a little bit.  The Walco website explains that Walco is a division of the Utica Cutlery Company, focusing primarily on the hotel and restaurant industries.  Here is a rendering of Utica Cutlery Company World Headquarters in beautiful Utica, New York:

Walco manufactures in the good ol’ U.S.A., but also imports some products from overseas.

The Walco website banner says the company celebrated their 100^th year anniversary in 2010!  If you’re like me, you may be a bit worried that being that old, Walco could be a little “out of date”.  Not to worry!  Recently Walco introduced their new “Freya Norse Goddess of Love” collection, featuring what they call the “latest trend in flatware”, Stand-up Knives! 

Stand-up Knives?  Now that's cutting edge!  Ba-dum ching! 

Zero Otto Nove: Goldilocks'd on Arthur Avenue

When I was but a young child, I went camping with my parents deep in the woods of Maine.  While my folks were attending to the camp, I wandered, and was soon lost in the woods.  Despite much searching, I would never see my family again.  Fortunately, I was taken in by a family of bears who treated me as their own.  My new bear family was very good at telling stories, their favorite being the classic tale of bear-human conflict, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”

I’m sure you have heard the story, but in case you haven’t (maybe you were raised by turkeys!), I will rehash it.  Goldilocks was a girl who some might describe as “intrusive”.  I’m sure her mother would say she was just “inquisitive” or a girl who “knew what she wanted”.  Anyway, Goldilocks is famous for breaking into the home of a typical bear family, eating their porridge, sitting in their chairs, and sleeping in their beds, all the while incessantly complaining about things being too hot/cold, big/small, soft/hard, et cetera.  In the end Goldilock’s narcissism caught up with her and the bears ate her. 

How does this relate to spoon-swapping?  I’ll tell you.  It all lies in the bane of the spoon-swapper:  The tiny “too small” dessert spoon, and its big brother the “too large” soup spoon.  These two will ruin your swap every time as they are completely and utterly un-swappable! 

Ordering soup at a restaurant as precursor to a swap is always risky, as the soup spoon is all too common.  Try swapping a standard issue spoon with one of these monsters and you might get away… but at the next joint, that big old soup spoon will stick out like a sore thumb!  So for this reason, soup is not the preferred route.  Much better to go with coffee or tea!  Nine times out of ten you’ll get a nice regular sized spoon with a cup of coffee… but it was not so when Ms. Dish and I visited Zero Otto Nove recently. 

Here at Zero Otto Nove, they serve their coffee with a little miniaturized spoon, ruining an otherwise fantastic meal!  We’d been Goldilocks’d by this “too-small” spoon!

Zero Otto Nove is on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, an oasis of Italian ambiance!  There is no shortage of fine restaurants and bakeries in the area, so Ms. Dish and I vow to return for a proper swap.

Spoon #8: New Leaf Cafe

Nestled into Fort Tryon Park, which I happen to hold as New York's most beautiful park, is the New Leaf Cafe:

After hearing nothing but good things, Ms. Dish and I had wanted to come here for a long time.  We finally made it on Sunday, and we were not disappointed!  Fort Tryon is home to such beautiful scenery, including forests, gardens, cliff overlooks, views of the Hudson River, and of course the famous Cloisters Museum.  What I like most, however, is the feeling I get when I step into the park and think I've stumbled on this incredible secret place.  The New Leaf seems to compliment all this perfectly in its own way.  Oh and did I mention it was none other than the incomparable Bette Midler who led restoration of the building through her organization, the New York Restoration Project?

It was at brunch at the New Leaf that we engaged our new Spoon #8:

Spoon 8 is marked "ONEIDA 18/10 BAGUETTE", and also has the marking "5-10" stamped near the bowl.

Here it is in a publicity shot, playing Twister with its friends:

Some people are so keen on the Oneida baguette, they take one with them wherever they go - like sous chef Richie Nakano!

This picture is from a very interesting article that looks into chefs and their tattoos.  Worth checking out!

How about the 5-10 near the bowl?  A date maybe?  Yet another mystery...

Introducing... The Swap Map!

Runcible and Ms. Dish plan the next swap.

Thanks to a generous grant from a mysterious benefactor, Spoon Swapper is enhancing your spoon swapping experience by introducing the interactive SWAP MAP!

View Swap Map in a larger map

At this point the Swap Map is very new and extremely experimental, but we have high hopes that it will prove successful in allowing us to track swaps geo-graphically! 

Spoon #7: Harry's Burritos

This weekend Ms. Dish and I visited one of our favorite Tex-Mex restaurants: Harry's Burritos  on 71st and Columbus.

There are a few Harry's Burritos around New York, as well as their sister restaurant, Benny's Burritos.  I must be honest; despite Ms. Dish's allegations, I always had my doubts that Harry's and Benny's were related, but the website confirms it!  In fact Harry and Benny were the names of the owner's grandfather and father.  Speaking of the website, there is a pretty cool link to play "Pop-up Tortillas".  If that doesn't get you in the mood for a burrito, I don't know what to tell you!

Here we have Spoon #7:

Number 7 includes the markings "Winco Stainless 18-0", and also an "8" near the bowl.  The ever-present Winco 8!  Will we ever discover its true meaning?   

Spoon #7 appears to be part of Winco's "Regency" line:

Extra credit goes to Ms. Dish for ordering a coffee at a burrito shop and making this swap possible!

Spoon #6: The Bridge Cafe

Ms. Dish and I have a long-standing tradition that on the first snow of the year we go to The Bridge Cafe for dinner.  Now, if you live in New York City, you know that we've been seeing some funny weather this year.  We got our first snow before Halloween!  This took us all by surprise, so Ms. Dish and I have been patiently waiting for the next "first snow" to go to The Bridge.  Fortunately that day finally came on Friday as I looked out my office window and low and behold saw some honest flurries. 

The Bridge Cafe has quite a history, dating back to 1794.  It always blows me away that this place is still around, nestled under the Brooklyn Bridge and next to the South Street Seaport.  According to the history books, the building has a long history as a grocery, saloon, and brothel.  It also is a contender for the much debated title of "oldest drinking establishment in New York City".

That history is great, but the fact is it wouldn't mean all that much if the food at The Bridge just wasn't really delicious.  It is!  Every time we eat here, I leave feeling that I just had a really good home-cooked meal.  The only downfall for this particular visit was that they did not have Ms. Dish's favorite home-made key lime pie.  Maybe next year!

You will notice by the way that the picture above is far better than any of the pictures featured in this journal prior.  That's because Ms. Dish took this picture.  It was decided at once that she will be in charge of picture-taking in the future.

Here we have Spoon #6:

Number 6 is marked "Oneida", "18/10", and "New Rim". 

Searching the internet for "Oneida New Rim" brings up a link to restaurantsource.com, which features this fantastic description: 

A gently curving border reflects the simple elegance of this fine 18/10 Stainless Steel pattern. A beautiful complement for virtually any tabletop, New Rim blends continental sizing with European styling with an impressive array of pieces to create a distinctive and unique placesetting.

I picture a lone writer thinking up these descriptions a la Sienfeld's Elaine Benis writing for J. Peterman.

Speaking of Oneida, which we first encountered as the makers of Spoon #0, the New York Times featured an article about the company a few days ago.  A very interesting story featuring more tidbits about the Oneida Community, Perfectionism, and the "Oneida Flip".  The main focus of the article, however, is that despite recent difficulties, a private equity firm has recently purchased Oneida and sees long term potential.  Good news for the people of Oneida, NY and spoon-swappers the world over. 



Spoon #5: Light Horse Tavern

This weekend brought Ms. Dish and I to Jersey City, New Jersey on secret business.  While there we were recommended to dine at the Light Horse Tavern in the Paulus Hook neighborhood:

It was a Sunday afternoon, so we figured a little brunch was in order.  Light Horse did not disappoint!  Ms. Dish and I both agreed that their Huevos Rancheros were the best we'd had in New York, even if we weren't technically in New York!

The Light Horse tavern, who's name Ms. Dish and I repeatedly screwed up, calling it variations of "white horse", "light house", "white house", etc., was named after Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III.  The menu went on to explain that Light Horse Harry was made famous during the Revolutionary War for capturing 400 British troops in a sneak attack on Paulus Hook.  Only one man was lost.

And without further ado, here is Spoon #5:

Spoon #5 is marked "Winco Stainless 18-10" and also features the mysterious "8" in a circle that we first encountered on spoon numero tres.  Number 5 looks like it fits in with Winco's "Stanford" line:

Will we ever solve the mystery of the "8" in a circle?  Perhaps someday...