My Kingdom for a Spoon

I must have missed something. Spoons, which have been around far longer than forks, are disappearing from the restaurant scene. It's not just the high-end places, mediocre restaurants are no longer offering a full set of silverware either. It's just a fork and a knife. And yet, they have things in bowls. I'm sorry, but if you serve something in a bowl, isn't a spoon kind of a prerequisite? Didn't the bowl run off with the spoon in some children's rhyme? Are spoons more expensive than knives and forks? Are they too hard to clean? Honestly, I don't get it. I don't even get the selection. Why eliminate the ubiquitous spoon? Why not the knife? This isn't the middle ages where diners had to stab at some dish with a knife they carried around with them. This is the 21st century. We like our salads. With the exception of buttering bread now and then I haven't had a single dish in the last few years which required a knife. But eating dal, a lentil SOUP, as I did yesterday, or risotto, as I did today, or a nice tofu/noodle broth combo, as I did last week, well, I'm sorry, they require a spoon. Unless you want me to pick up my bowl and slurp from it. Honestly, I don't think anyone wants that. So don't make me embarrass you, or me, and don't make me beg. Just give me a friggin spoon.

Comments

RASA

The popular grain bowl trend gets a twist with this Indian-inspired takeout bowl place. Same concept -- a base, greens, toppings, etc., but the options are mostly Indian inspired and the majority of offerings are vegetarian (although not vegan, given the heavy use of Ghee in cooking). My take is mixed. Some of the items were outstanding, some less so. I got the Lemon Tumeric Rice, which was delightful. Fresh and tangy, with a little bite, it was one of the best rice dishes I've ever tried. On top of this I got the Tofu/Cauliflower protein. It was half and half. The cauliflower was perfectly roasted, the roasted onions delightful, and the nuts were a beautiful added crunch. The tofu, however, was watery, and the green and red peppers well past prime. Next, I added sauteed spinach, which was incredibly bland, and the peanut sesame sauce, which was "okay" but forgettable. I didn't do additional toppings, although there were plenty. I did get two of the mini s

First Watch

Meant to invite some family members here but a friend beat me to the punch. We compromised and went together. Unfortunately, this is a place where it looks better than it is. Across the board. The funky design scheme makes it an echo chamber and, with the pumping music, very loud. Conversation was difficult. The menu is covered in glossy photos and descriptions of the food but ... I started with the Morning Meditation Fresh Juice, a pretty blend of citrus and beet. Or I tried to. Took three reminders to the waiter and when it finally arrived, halfway into the meal, it was 90% ice and 10% juice. My companions opted for coffee. It was ice cold. Another long wait (about 20 minutes) to get new coffee -- and included a reminder to staff that they wanted fresh cups as well. I ordered the Vegetarian Quinoa Bowl, which was described as having up to 12 ingredients. It had three. The quinoa, an egg, maybe two teeny slices of tomato past its prime. It wasn't hot or cold, just r

Mezeh

With this new version of a middle-eastern inspired "bowl/pita/wrap" meal the Ballston Mezeh has a lot to praise and a few things it could do better. On the plus side is a ton of options. For a base they move beyond the simple rice or greens selections to specific greens options/mixes and then they have three kinds of rice (including Riced Cauliflower with Bulgar Wheat for the Keto crowd). After that there are two different protein options for veggies -- Falafel and Veggie Kofta. I selected the Kofta just so that I could have something new ... and loved it. But you aren't done there. You can choose up to 12 toppings (TWELVE) out of 27. Then there are the dressings. Again, the choices are overwhelming with eight -- each sounds amazing. I went with the Spicy Mango and was not disappointed. I ordered a bowl and still got a nice big slice of warm pita which was just yummy. The challenge however, is that the bowl I ordered online wasn't really full. There were lot

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