The Runcible Spoon

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
the moon, the moon.
They danced by the light of the moon.
--"The Owl and the Pussycat," Edward Lear, 1971

I can vividly remember the illustrations in "The Owl and the Pussycat" book that my mom used to read to my sister and me. What I didn't realize until I was looking it up tonight is how SHORT the actual poem is. It's three stanzas! When I was little, it seemed so long.

Digressions aside, the reason I was looking up "The Owl and the Pussycat," and more specifically, the enigmatic runcible spoon, was that I went to a restaurant over the weekend called the Runcible Spoon! We wanted a quick--and cheap--bite before heading to a movie, and the Spoon was right on the way. It's housed in a converted Victorian-y looking house, with an umbrella-ed patio in the front. The interior boasts wooden plank tables in various shapes and sizes, a windy staircase, and a nice soothing coffee smell.

The food? Good. Really good, especially for the prices (my dinner was $6, with tax and all). I got a "Black Russian," which is basically a vegetarian Reuben. I admittedly really like Reubens (the main reason I can never be a true vegetarian, I think) but the Black Russian was a good substitute, with sauteed (but not mushy!) vegetables in place of the corned beef. It was on reaaaaally awesome dark rye bread, with a side of "smashed" potatoes, which turned out to be more like a tasty potato pancake. It's mostly sandwiches and all day breakfast, with some good veg/vegan options (one of the people I was with is vegetarian, and she vouches for their black bean soup). I think they might have pasta too.

Anyway, check it out! It kind of reminded me in Rent of the Life Cafe where they all jump up on the tables and sing "La Vie Boheme." I feel like something like that could happen at the Runcible Spoon some evening.

Oh, and a runcible spoon? "Runcible" is a word that Lear made up, and he uses it to describe different things in different works. It has also been defined as a pickle fork, or a spoon with a cutting edge, although in Lear's drawing of it, it just looks like a ladle. For even more oddness, check out "The Owl and the Pussycat," set to music by Igor Stravinsky.