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.

Spoon #30: Walker's

Miss Dish and I actually swapped Spoon #30 a few weeks ago, but in the hoopla of Super Storm Sandy I have not had a chance to post about it.  The swap took place here at Walker's in TriBeCa:

Miss Dish and I first stopped in about a month ago, and we were so impressed that we decided to come back for a swap.  Walker's is another classic New York bar.  Opening in 1987, it has a full twenty-five years of service under its belt.  I like these bars that don't rely on "oldest in New York" titles to earn their keep - somehow they feel a little more "authentic".

If you stop in, I really recommend the hamburgers.  For a long time I scoffed at people who would claim the best burger, thinking "how can you screw up a hamburger?!".  Well, perhaps I'm just a little more sophisticated now where I can say the people at Walker's definitely make a burger of distinction!

And of course, here we have Spoon #30:

Marked "Winco Stainless 18-0", Spoon #30 looks like it a Winco Regency, just like Spoon #7.

Spoon #29: Out of the Blue

Ms. Dish and I were ultimately successful at spoon-swapping in Ireland at Out of the Blue in the tiny seaside town of Dingle:

Out of the Blue was highly recommended by our travel guidebook, and it did not disappoint.  They serve up nothing but seafood and have a strict "no chips" policy.  I'm no expert when it comes to seafood - I leave the that to Ms. Dish.  So when she said this was some of the best seafood she'd ever had I could not disagree!  Apparently the menu is made up daily based on what was caught and brought in that day to the harbor across the street!  

And here we have our first international spoon, number 29:

Unfortunately, #29 gives us very few clues as to its origin.  Only the words "18/0 STAINLESS STEEL".  Looking similar to an Oneida Baguett, but with an extra little detail where the handle meets the bowl;  a mysterious spoon from the Emerald Isle.

Goldilocks'd in Ireland

Greetings Spoon Swappers!  Very sorry for the delay in this post, but as mentioned last time, Ms. Dish and I have been on holiday in Ireland!  Aside from having an absolutely wonderful time, we did pack along Spoon #28 with the hopes of fitting a couple of international swaps.

As it turns out, it was not easy to swap spoons in Ireland!  All too often we ran into the oversized soup spoon and the tiny coffee spoon!  A regular 'merican sized spoon like #28 just didn't seem to fit in around here.

Such was the case at Apsley's in Larne, a seaport town in Northern Ireland.

 

We happened to stop in on a Sunday after arriving in Dublin several hours earlier.  Being a Sunday, most of the town was closed, but Apsley's seemed welcoming enough.  Aside from being our first Irish meal, this was our first Irish "Fry", a breakfast consisting of eggs, ham, sausage, potatoes, tomato, and soda bread toast.  In this case the fry also included baked beans.  Unfortunately this was a true Goldilocks situation as the beans came with a soup spoon and the coffee with a tiny spoon.

Next up was The Grill Room in Belfast: 

Apologies for the "street view" of The Grill Room.  The Grill Room was actually the restaurant attached to the hotel where we were staying.  Usually Ms. Dish and I are a little hesitant when it comes to hotel restaurants.  Often over-priced and under-delicious here in the States, this does not seem to be the case in the places we visited in Ireland.  Our dinner at The Grill Room was in fact very delicious, and Ms. Dish and I even ordered coffee and the desert with the hopes of swapping.  Unfortunately we were again thwarted by the tiny desert spoon!

On to the tiny town of Mullaghmor, just north of Sligo on the western coast of Ireland.  Ms. Dish and I headed up to Mullaghmor with the hopes of taking some photos of Classiebawn Castle before the sun set. As the sun went down the temperature dropped and the winds picked up - we found ourselves quite hungry.  Fortunately we found the Quay Bar & Restaurant just across from the town's tiny harbor:

Again had a great meal of traditional Irish pub fare, but we were Goldilocks'd by the tiny desert spoon!

In Galway, Ms. Dish and I stopped in at Mc Donagh's, famous for their fish and chips: 

Ms. Dish even tried the Fried Salmon, which I had never heard of before. With our fish & chips we ordered up some chowder with the hopes of swapping, but as the trend continued, it was served with a soup spoon.  Goldilocks'd yet again! 

Spoon #28: McGarry's

Everyone knows that when you need photo, video, or pro audio equipment, "You go to B&H!".  It was with that in mind that Ms. Dish and I went to that retail curiosity that is B&H last week.  And after doing so, we found ourselves quite hungry!  Luckily, just across the street is McGarry's Pub:

It is a little ironic that although we had just finished shopping at the largest non-chain camera and video store in the United States, we forgot to take a picture of McGarry's.  The picture above was taken by yours truly about a week later as I happened to be passing by.

McGarry's is apparently a pretty old pub, but it looked very new inside.  Their website confirms that although Mr. McGarry opened the pub shortly after World War One, the pub was reopened in 2007 under new ownership.

Maybe it's about time I spilled the beans that Ms. Dish and I are planning a trip to the old Emerald Isle soon, so we have made it a point to visit as many Irish pubs as possible in the hopes that we will be given sound advice by ex-patriot bartenders.  Our bartender at McGarry's recommended that we try a "snackbox" after I ordered up some chicken curry.  We'll give it a shot! 

Here is Spoon number 28:

I think this spoon may drive me to madness.  Right after we swapped, I thought to myself "oh, another one of these spoons" - I was quite certain that we'd swapped this model before!  But after obsessively searching the entire Spoon Swapper archives it seems this is the first occurrence! In particular, this flower on the end seems very familiar...

Well, no matter.  Marked "Winco Stainless", Spoon 28 appears to be from either Winco's Elegance collection:

Or, the "Elegance Plus" collection:

 
The difference?  Hard to say.

And again like Spoon 23, Spoon 28 does not feature the Winco "8 in a Circle" - maddening! 

Spoon #27: Billie's Fine Foods

ST LOUIS SLINGER SAMPLER PART II

Our Saint Louis Slinger Sampler continued at Billie's Fine Foods in the industrial neighborhood of Kosciusko.  Surrounded by warehouses, rail yards, and factories, I think of Billie's as a workin' man's diner:

As you might expect, they serve up a mighty fine Slinger: thick Texas toast, piled with meaty chili... this was the Slinger of my dreams!

And here is brand new (to us) Spoon #27:

#27 is marked "Bakers & Chefs", "736", and bears the safety mark of NSF International.  This spoon is just like Spoon Numero Uno, which we swapped at another fine diner, George's Coffee Shop on 164th street! 

By the way, those folks at NSF are tirelessly working to protect you.  For example, it looks like they just released some timely tips on preventing food poisoning while tailgating this football season.  Watch your marinades, Spoon Swappers!