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.

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.