Spoon #26: City Diner

Don't think for a second that spoon swapping is confined to any particular city, state, or even country!  This is true international business.  It is for this reason that Ms. Dish and I brought along Spoon 25 last week when we visited the mighty city by the mighty Mississippi: Saint Louis, Missouri!

Like most cities, Saint Louis has its regional cuisine.  Most of these sound like they were made up by a five year old: toasted ravioli, saint louis style "pizza", gooey butter cake, and my favorite, the SLINGER!

For those not in the know, the Slinger has a few variations, but the most common is constructed in this order:
 I. Toast
 II. Sausage or Hamburger Patty
 III. Home Fries
 IV. Chili
 V. Egg (Any Style)

Some places put the toast on the side... some swap out the sausage with ham or steak, but the basic idea is the same.

Naturally then in the course of our visit I insisted that Ms. Dish and I stop in at a couple Saint Louis diners for a SAINT LOUIS SLINGER SAMPLER!

First Slinger was had at the City Diner on Grand Street: 

This Slinger was pretty good; toast was on the side, and it was topped with cheese.  For some reason the City Diner reminds me of "The Max" from Saved by the bell.  Maybe it's the black and white checkered floor or the posters of Marilyn Monroe.

This was our first swap outside of the New York City area, so I was curious what brand spoon would arrive with my cup of joe.  Would we be treated to some rare regional spoon?  Well let's take a look here at Spoon #26:

It's a Qualite Poise!  We haven't seen this particular model of spoon yet, but of course we have swapped Qualite spoons before.  How very interesting though that we still can not find any information about this mysterious and evidently national spoonmaker! 

Look out for part II of the SAINT LOUIS SLINGER SAMPLER soon! 

Spoon #25: Adrienne's Pizza Bar

Last week Ms. Dish and I stopped in at Adrienne's Pizza Bar on Stone Street in Lower Manhattan:

Historic Stone Street has a really interesting story.  Many of the buildings date back to the construction which followed the Great Fire of 1835.  After falling into neglect for several decades, in the late 90s Stone Street experienced a rebirth as a lunch and happy-hour spot catering to the surrounding Financial District.  Designated as a pedestrian-only cobbled street, on summer nights Stone Street is lined with tables and the adjacent restaurants and bars are filled with happy customers looking to relax after a hard day's work.

Adrienne's is one such restaurant or "Pizza Bar".  Now we all know that New York Pizza is the best in the world, but Adrienne's specializes in the rectangular thin-crust Sicilian "Grandma Style" pizza pie.  Still, this might be some of the best pizza in New York!

Here now we have Spoon #25:

No. 25 is marked "Winco Stainless 18-0" and also features the Winco "8" towards the bowl.  Looks like Number 25 belongs to Winco's "Flute" series:

Very sleek and stylish! 

Spoon #24: Brasserie Le Bouchon

This past weekend Ms. Dish and I ran off to Cold Spring, New York in the beautiful Hudson Highlands.  In between exploring the ruins of Bannerman's Castle and the Mount Beacon Incline, we stopped in at Brasserie Le Bouchon.

I already knew that Brasserie was French for "restaurant" but what's a Bouchon?  According to the internet it's a particular type of restaurant, focusing on Lyonnaise cuisine.  Now I'm no expert, so I can not vouch for the authenticity of the dishes, but I can tell you our waiter had what appeared to be an authentically French pointy-mustache!  Mustaches aside, this place was very relaxed and the food was downright delicious.

Here is Spoon #24:

This looks like a Sant Andrea Bellini, just like Spoon #11.  Number 24 is a bit on the small side, so I was afraid that this swap may have been Golidlocks'd, but we ended up quite successful! 

Spoon #23: Ruby's

This past Saturday, Ms. Dish and I again found ourselves hungry in SoHo.  Fortunately a popular internet based user generated restaurant review site guided us to Ruby's on Mulberry Street!

Once again Ms. Dish and I forgot to take a picture of the place, so please accept this "street view" from the internet.

Ms. Dish and I almost passed on Ruby's as it seemed a little too "hip" and despite the very hot and muggy weather, there was no air conditioning.  We're both glad we gave it a chance though... It turned out to be a pretty cozy joint and after a couple of basil lemonades we were sufficiently cooled down and had a great meal!

Here we present Spoon Number Twenty-Three:

Number 23 bears the markings "Winco Stainless 18-10" on the back.  This spoon is very similar to Spoon 16, which was an Oneida New York.  Funny how repetitious spoon styles can be! 

Number 23 is evidently a Winco "Peacock" as shown here with the family:

You know what's odd about this spoon?  There's no "8 in a circle" on the back like all the other Winco spoons that we've run across!  Now what are we to make of that?  Is it a bootleg Winco?  This spoon seems pretty worn and old... maybe the "8 in a circle" is a more recent thing?  The only thing more mysterious than the "Winco 8" is a Winco spoon without it!

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 #20: P. J. Clarke's

The Famous P. J. Clarke's:

Pure class and more popular than ever.  For better or worse, there are a few P. J. Clarke's throughout New York now - and did you know there's even a P. J. Clarke's in Las Vegas?  The original, however, is located in a tiny building tucked right in between midtown skyscrapers.   You can tell a lot of people have been through this place, and at that its age (over 125 years!) it has had its impact on New York.  Just take a look at the History section their website. 

If you're a fella you have to check out the bathroom; stained glass ceilings and giant porcelain urinals make you feel like a king! 

Here's ol' spoon number twenty: 

Well if it isn't an Oneida New Rim.  Just the same as Spoon Six even down to the 9-11 marking near the bowl.

You know what that means - we have an unprecedented three-way tie for "Most Commonly Swapped Spoon" between the Oneida Baguette, the Winco Continental, and the Oneida New Rim!

UPDATE:  Hold your horses, I just realized we also have another contender for our tie:  The Winco Stanford!  A four-way tie between Oneida and Winco!