Dish Dash

I finally realized that my kitchen is woefully lacking in the dinnerware department. All I have left from several moves are four plates. I don't know how this happened, but it saddens me - the plates were part of a dinnerware set that my dad handed down to me when he originally moved from Austin. They're very nice plates, but I have no bowls, no salad plates, no mugs, cups, saucers, etc. Since I want to follow the awesome example set by Tom and Tiff and start eating better (by cooking at home more, natch), I figured it was high time I rectified this lack of suitable dinnerware.

I didn't really know the best place to start my search, so I thought - where could I buy some nice dinnerware? That ruled out Target, Wal-Mart, Ikea, etc. I just didn't think I'd find what I really wanted there. I did remember the girlfriend's love for Pottery Barn, and I'd also remembered seeing some dishes there, so I checked them out. No go, not really my style. The girlfriend then suggested Crate and Barrel. A short perusal through their website, and score! I found some I thought I could really dig.

Hitch #1: The girlfriend suggested the store, therefore implicitly giving her approval. Now I had to get her approval for the dishes - if she's going to come over for dinner now and then, she's going to have to eat off them...not to mention the potential that they'll also be her dishes down the road (eek). I thought "hoo boy, this should be interesting."

Well, seeing things on the website and seeing them in person make a big difference. The "ugh"s, "no way"s, "uh uh"s and "yuck"s turned to "hmm, I actually like those" in the store. Wow. Yay for me (as the girlfriend would say). She likes the same ones that I do. This could be a good sign, which brings us to...

Hitch #2: "Sorry sir, we're out of stock." Crap. Well, when will you get more? "I dunno... it depends on whether or not the warehouse has any." Hmm. Yeah. Good call, dude. (Where's that eye-rolling smiley?)

Ah well, I figured I'd try the other Crate and Barrel store in town. This time I got someone a little more with it.

Hitch #3: "It looks like all the stores have negative inventory, and the warehouse is out too." Are these dishes that popular? Does everyone else in the area have them at home? Maybe I want to pick something less... common. I still like them though... "When do you think you might have them in stock?" "Well, it looks like the warehouse will probably have more in six to eight (pause) weeks."

Back to the drawing board. I really don't want to get any of the other kinds of dinnerware I've seen so far - shoot, I'd rather stick with Chinet. Maybe I could invent the dishwasher-safe paper plate.

Any suggestions on where I could find something I might like? Amazon has some, but after the Crate and Barrel experience, I really want to be able to see the dishes in person.

Oh, and on top of that, Ikea has discontinued the EFFEKTIV office desk I was going to use as my dining table. ARGH!

Comments

[Tom Bridge]

Believe it or not, Target's got some good stuff.

[Monkey Boy]

I'm seriously considering hitting Target and just getting some "interim" dishes, knowing the girlfriend's going to force me to get new ones if we move in together down the line anyway :)

[Tom Bridge]

True enough, and interim dishes can be pretty cheap.