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My First Blog Post

May the Fork be with You!

Why not start my first post with a reference to Star Wars! I am not a Star Wars fan, so this will be the only reference.

What is this about? Forks! Literally a Fork! These are my opinions and I am not paid for fork reviews or restaurant reviews. My writing is for my pleasure and to share my thoughts on forks.

Over the years, I have traveled for work and for fun all over the country. Traveling requires eating out quite a bit at a variety of restaurants. Each time I am amazed on how much (or little) is spent on good utensils. I have observed that good utensils does not equal good food.

I may share pictures of forks (the good, the bad and the ugly), of food (because who doesn’t take pictures of their food) and other random observations that I want to share (my version of Facebook/Instagram).

Thank you for taking the time to read this and may the (good) Fork be with you today! And as Ellen says “Be kind to one another”

Tines? What are They Good For?

Yesterday, I was out to lunch at the Pancake House and my fork only had three tines (prongs). It got me to thinking about why some forks have three tines and some have four tines. Then I started thinking about the word “tine”. I use this word frequently in different word games and knew it was related to the fork prongs, but what exactly is a tine? So, where do you go for answers – the Googles!

The word “tine” is interchangeable with the word “prong” and can be a blunt such as with forks, sharp like a pitchfork, or the “teeth” of a comb can be a tine. So, how about that.

Now back to my question on the three tine vs. four tine fork? Here is an article I found that provides a little history of the fork and tines: https://www.cookist.com/here-s-why-the-forks-have-four-tines/. Thank you to the author for doing the work for me. Three tine forks are mainly used when eating fish.

So, back to my Pancake House visit. Three tine fork? Are they cheaper? Should pancakes be eaten with three tines? Do their pancakes have fish in them? (Just Kidding). My cutlery etiquette would be out of whack if that is the case. Fortunately I had a BLTA and fries – so no tines were needed in the commencement of my meal – however I would have to give the Pancake House a forkin’ 1 star!

Does my Fork Spark Joy?

Well, I can’t have a forking blog without telling you about my go to fork.

When it came time to purchase new flatware, it took quite a bit of touching, grasping and a general feeling. This was waaay before Marie Kondo came along. “Does this fork spark joy?”

My fork has to have a good handle. It needs to have some weight to it and its has to be a decent length (no small forks for me)!

I chose the Kate Spade flatware. It’s simple, sturdy, and looks good at dinner parties.

May you find what sparks you joy!

Gordon Ramsey Forks

Now, Gordon Ramsey has some nice forks. They are fancy, heavy and feel great in the hand. This fork is from his Las Vegas restaurant, Gordon Ramsey Pub & Grill located in Caesar’s Palace. Here is a great example of great fork, not so great food. Well, I wasn’t impressed anyway. Fork – 4, Food – 3!

Nice Restaurant – Plastic Forks?

I was recently in Atlanta for Christmas and went to Epstein’s for a nice Christmas pre-fixe meal. The meal itself was nice, service was great and their forks were suitable. However, when it came to dessert, we asked for new utensils to eat with. Who wants leftover prime rib and mashed potatoes on their chocolate cake. The waiter came back with pre-packaged plastic utensils wrapped in a paper napkin – no joke! Waiter’s reason: I couldn’t find any clean forks! Seriously? It’s Christmas, it wasn’t busy. For this reason, I have to give the place a Forkin’ 2!