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! 

The Spoon: A Poem

Some days I think I need nothing
more in life than a spoon.
With a spoon I can eat oatmeal
or take the medicine doctors prescribe.
I can swat a fly sleeping on the sill
or pound the table to get attention.
I can point accusingly at God
or stab the empty air repeatedly.
Looking into the spoon's mirror,
I can study my face in its shiny bowl,
or cover one eye to make half the world
disappear.  With a spoon
I can dig a tunnel to freedom
spoonful by spoonful of dirt,
or waste life catching moonlight
and flinging it into the blackest night.

- Richard Jones

Spoon #19: Fraunces Tavern

Earlier this week Ms. Dish and I stopped in to Fraunces Tavern in the Financial District:

Fraunces Tavern is an old building with a new restaurant.  In fact, many sources say Fraunces Tavern is the oldest building in all of Manhattan, originally built in 1719 as the home of Etienne "Stephen" DeLancey.

It seems that any building of such age falls into the "George Washington's Axe" category.  Do you know all about George Washington's Axe?  It's one of my favorite anecdotes, so I'll remind you.  Essentially it revolves around someone saying "This is George Washington's Axe!  The handle has been replaced three times and the head has been replaced twice, but it's his original axe!".  Another example is the Ship of Theseus which will have the philosophers arguing until they are replaced!  Fraunces Tavern certainly falls into this category.  Over the years the building has seen a lot of action; opening as a tavern in 1762, pre-Revolutionary War cannonballs through the roof, George Washington's farewell to the Continental Army, multiple fires, and a bomb attack by Puerto Rican terrorists!  In all that time the building has undergone many changes.  It seems no one knows exactly what it looked like originally, but the current manifestation is the best guess. Many more details can be found on Wikipedia and the Fraunces Tavern Museum website.

All of this history aside, last year a new restaurant operated by Ireland's Porterhouse Brewing Company opened for business at Fraunces Tavern, serving typical pub fare with some fancier options to suit the financial district patrons.  As the Porterhouse Brewing Company name would imply, they have several of their own brews on tap and if you enjoy a nice whiskey this seems to be the place to go.  Fraunces Tavern is a stop on the American Whiskey Trail and their "Dingle Whiskey Bar" is home of the "Fraunces Tavern Whiskey Society".

Now here we have Spoon #19:

We know all about this spoon, because it is identical to Spoon #3, a Winco Continental! 

Do you know what this means?  It means with two occurrences, the Winco Continental is tied with the Oneida Baguette as our most commonly swapped spoon!

Spoon #18: Brasserie 360

Now to continue with our French Food Double Whammy, Part Deux!

After visiting Madame Claude, Ms. Dish, Ms. Scoop, and I took a trip to Brasserie 360 on  60th and Third:

Disclaimer:  Above photograph taken by Runcible.  Please excuse the inferior quality when compared to what you have come to expect from the lens of Ms. Dish.

We traveled to Brasserie 360 on a hunch that this was the same restaurant Ms. Scoop would frequent when she lived in the area about 40 years ago.  Unfortunately, we discovered that this was not the place, but still we had a darn good meal. 


Here we have Spoon Number 18:  

An Oneida Baguette, just like Spoon Number 8!  With a record of TWO occurrences, this is officially our most popular spoon! 

Aside from the worn markings "ONEIDA 18/10 BAGUETTE", Number 18 also includes the mark "9-07" near the bowl.  Spoon Number 8 had the mark "5-10" at this location, which we speculated could be a date.  This "9-07" certainly seems to fit in with this theory.  Isn't it nice of Oneida to not only include the name of the spoon on the back, but also the date of manufacture?  That's how you run a world-class flatware company! 

Spoon #17: Madame Claude Cafe

Would you believe it has been a whole month since our last swap?  To make up for it Ms. Dish and I went on a spoon-bender, featuring a french food double-whammy!  

Also joining us was Ms. Dish's mother, Ms. Scoop!  Our first stop was the Madame Claude Cafe in Jersey City, NJ:

Disclaimer:  Above photograph taken by Runcible.  Please excuse the inferior quality when compared to what you have come to expect from the lens of Ms. Dish.

Madame Claude's is a real cozy joint featuring some excellent French cuisine.  In true Jersey City form it is B.Y.O.B.!  Spoon number 17 came along with some of the best French Onion Soup of all time:

Number 17 is marked "ADCRAFT MONTE CARLO S/S 8".  This is our first Adcraft spoon!  A little research tells us that "Adcraft" is short for Admiral Craft, "Serving the Food Service Industry Since 1952!".  Originally the company focused on "smallwares" (restaurant supply talk for utensils, pots, pans, et cetera), but now their range includes all sorts of commercial counter top equipment, such as meat grinders, mini pizza ovens, and hot dog rollers! 

Here is Spoon 17 in an Adcraft publicity shot:

Swapping Number 17 was relatively easy as none of the flatware at Madame Claude's seemed to match.  Perhaps this is a local hangout for all manner of spoon-, fork-, and knife-swappers, but it seems the kind of thing only a tiny French bistro can pull off. 

More to come on our French food double-whammy soon!