Monday, October 26, 2009

Spoons-Only Restaurant?

I got this e-mail from a reader over the weekend:

“My anniversary is coming up and I would like to do something special for my husband. He has mentioned a restaurant that serves everything on spoons. He has mentioned this place several times (but never by name) and I cannot find it. Have you heard of such a restaurant?”

My first thought was that her husband is trying out material for a spec piece for The Onion. My second was that maybe he had misunderstood the concept behind Spoonriver? My third was that he has lousy diction and really wants food served only on skewers, a la Fogo de Chão. (And, yes, I did wonder if I was being put on.) But, barring any of those options, this seemed like a fun thing to consider.

What would be a good eating-utensil-themed restaurant? The restaurant I’d open would be a diet restaurant called Lobster Fork, and everything would be cut into super-small pieces so it would take about six hours to eat a cob salad. What’s yours? Best three answers get a pair of tickets to the 19th Annual Midwest Home Show (November 13 – 15).

By the way, I’m still laughing about the Gingiss formal wear joke, and the white-tie vs. black-tie joke, from the comments on whether local restaurants are too informal… If you’ve never read all of that post, and you have an hour to kill, get ready for a good time: Are Local Restaurants Too Inexpensive?

Oh, and I did respond to the reader, saying I had never heard of a spoons-only local restaurant, but would throw it out to the crowd in case anyone else had. Have you?

Posted on Monday, October 26, 2009 in Permalink

Comments may be edited for length, clarity, or appropriateness.

Reader Comments:

Oct 26, 2009 10:46 pm

Posted by doug.m

I seem to recall that Bank has some kind of crazy wall-o'-spoons sampler thing. I just checked their web site and it appears that, yeah, they do. See page 2 of their private dining menu (http://www.bankmpls.com/pdf/BANKPrivateDining.pdf)

It's actually called the "signature spoon display," but I like my name for it better.

Anyway, my guess is that's what the reader had in mind.

Add your comment:

Create an instant account, or please log in if you have an account.

Email address (not displayed publicly)

Password

Forgot your password?

Characters remaining

Verification Question. (This is so we know you are a human and not a spam robot.)

What is 6 + 7 ?

Dear Dara is the place where Minnesota Monthly readers can interact with our dining critic and senior editor Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl. What makes her so special? She’s been reviewing restaurants and covering food and wine in the Twin Cities since 1995, most notably asCity Pages’ restaurant critic, but also for Gourmet, USA Today, Wine & Spirits, Bon Appetit, and Saveur. She’s been included in five editions of the Best Food Writing anthologies, and been nominated for seven James Beard Awards – though, to tell you the truth, most of the time the medals from her four wins are buried under a pile of chocolate wrappers at the back of her desk. This blog will be where she’ll answer your questions, (though probably not all of them), dish on her latest discoveries, reflect on breaking news, and generally bring the plate to the page.

Send your dining questions to Dara! Email her at dmgrumdahl@minnesotamonthly.com.

Anchor Fish & Chips	Lola's Lakehouse
Bar La Grassa	Lyndale Tap House
Best Takeout	New Restaurant Scene
Burger Madness	Restaurant Cru
Capital Grills	Risotto
Chef Shack	Santorini
Cooper Irish Pub	Sea Change
Craftshouse	Trattoria Tosca
Going Whole Hog	Wakame Sushi
Il Gatto	Zen Asian Contemporary