Spoon #47: Bald Mountain Camps

Gee, have you ever had this dream?  It's the end of the semester... The weight of finals is bearing down on you... class projects... trying to get that grade up... and then, what's this?  You forgot to go to English class!  Not just today... not just this week... but all semester!  Maybe you went that first day... who knows?!  But now the semester is over and you're in deep trouble because you forgot all about it!  
Well, this isn't too far from the scenario that I'm in these days...  Here it is nearly the end of the year, and I never turned in my first assignment!  Well, on the off chance you'll still accept it for grade, please let me present, "How I Swapped My Summer Vacation", a three part series.

This Summer, Ms. Dish and I retreated to the woods of Western Maine to join Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Ursa Minor for some Rest & Relaxation:

Of course, R&R doesn't mean you can't swap a spoon or two!  This latest swap took place at public dining room of the Bald Mountain Camps in Oquossoc, Maine. 

The Bald Mountain Camps are located on the shores of the Mooselookmeguntic Lake, and date back to their origin as a sporting lodge founded in the 1800s. While Ms. Dish and I usually don't dig eating in a room full of taxidermied critters, we did have a great meal that provided us plenty of energy for the next morning when we, along with Ursa Minor, summited the famed Bald Mountain!   

So what type of spoon should we come to expect in the wilds of Maine?

Ah, Spoon #47 appears with the words "WALCO?".  Isn't that strange?  A little research indicates that Spoon 47 is part of Walco's Balance series:

But what of this mysterious question mark?  What could it mean??  Will Runcible and Ms. Dish ever solve this mystery???

Spoon #46: The Barge Inn

Well, after a seven month hiatus, we're back!  This swap actually took place way back in the year 2013, when Ms. Dish and I joined our friends Salt and Bean for Salt's birthday.  Our destination:  the Barge Inn in Jersey City, New Jersey. 
  

The Barge Inn sure looks like a bar from the outside, but looks can be deceiving.  Inside, you will find a very cozy Italian restaurant!  The other patrons seem like family and may very well all know each other;  The older patrons have probably been coming here for years!  The menu is traditional Italian fare.  Recently I heard word of an apparent "FBI Raid" at the Barge Inn, so you can't ask for a more authentic Hudson County experience! 

Here we go now with Spoon number 46: 

A Qualite Windsor! 

Let me tell you, a lot can happen in seven months... I am almost ashamed to say it, but part of the reason for the hiatus was that Spoon 46 was LOST for some time.  As spoon-swapping rules clearly state, spoon-swapping could not continue until it was located.  Luckily after search parties were dispatched, Number 46 was located in the pocket of a winter coat!

Things to Do with a Spoon: Play a Guitar with It!

Happy New Year Spoon-Swappers!  

Hey, if 2014 finds you with a spoon, a guitar, and a lot of time to practice:

Spoon #45: Sullivan Bistro

Swap number 45 went down at the Sullivan Bistro, just north of Houston:

Ever since REI moved into the neighborhood, Ms. Dish and I find ourselves swapping in this area more and more often.  The Sullivan Bistro was the perfect place to relax after purchasing recreational equipment from our fellow cooperative members.

Marked, "Winco Stainless 18-0", spoon number 45 looks like it's from Winco's "Dots" collection.  Another interesting note, spoon 45 is also missing the "8 in circle" just like we saw with Spoon 38!

Spoon #44: Gentleman Farmer

Ms. Dish and I recently went on another road trip up to the vicinity of Providence, Rhode Island.  On our return back home we were famished for some breakfast and found just what we were looking for at the Gentleman Farmer:

This was a great breakfast joint that allowed us the good fortune of swapping Spoon #44:

Number 44 is marked "Qualite Windsor".  Although the Qualite brand is still a mystery to us, it does seem to display quite similar styling to the Sysco Windsor that we swapped as Spoon 42.  This continues what I see as a very perplexing phenomenon of multiple companies producing similar spoons with the same name.  Remember the "Dominion" line?  What exactly is going on here?  Are these knockoff spoons?  Where do these styles and trends originate?  To track these cases, I have added a "Loeffelganger" category until we get to the bottom of things.  Much credit to Ursa Minor for coining this term, a combination of the German words Loeffel, for spoon, and Doppelganger, meaning "double goer".  "Spoon-goer" doesn't make much sense, but you get the point!

Goldilocks'd in Spain

Next and final stop on our 'round the world voyage was Spain, Europe!  Ms. Dish and I attempted two swaps while in Spain, both in the beautiful town of Tarifa.  Tarifa is small town on the very southernmost tip of Spain.  Recently Tarifa's pristine beaches have become a mecca for kite-boarders!

They were everywhere, and it definitely changed my impression of kiteboarding from "kind of dorky" to "kind of cool". 

Attempted Swap Number One took place at La Trattoria:

We quickly found that Coffee in Spain is usually served in a small cup accompanied by a tiny coffee spoon.  Unfortunately, we were still packing a large Chicago-style soup spoon, so we found ourselves Goldilocks'd.  Fortunately the food at La Trattoria was very good!

Attempted Swap Number Two was down the street at Cafe Babel:

Here we sampled a number of delicious 'tapas', though again we were Goldilocks'd by the tiny coffee spoon!  I suppose we were simply not meant to swap spoons in Spain...

Spoon #43: The Berghoff

The second stop on world tour was another Chicago landmark: The Berghoff:

I will admit that Ms. Dish did not do our homework, and we knew very little about the Berghoff when we stepped inside.  We were merely enchanted by the glow of their giant neon sign.  Quickly we learned what a special place this is.  The Berghoff was opened in 1898 by Herman Berghoff as a cafe to showcase the beer that he and his brothers brewed.  The cafe survived Prohibition serving what is now sold as their "root beer".  Following the repeal of prohibition, ther Berghoff was issued prestigious Liquor License #1!  Despite this long history, the Berghoff did breifly close its doors in 2005, however it has recently been reopned by Carlyn Berghoff, representing the fourth generation of Berghoffs to operate the restaurant. 

As we often declare, history is great... but how's the food?  Ms. Dish and I are pleased to announce that it is fantastic!  Spoon 43 accompanied a bowl of "Alsatian Onion and Apple Soup" which was the perfect sustenance for trudging the streets of Chicago.
 

Spoon 43 is another distinctly soupish spoon, marked only "!8/8 Stainless China".  Not a lot to go on, so we will have to consider it "unidentified"