REMEMBER WHEN THIS WAS SOMETHING MEMORABLE? AND YOU FOUND IT IN WASHINGTON COUNTY CAFES! What was it? ... The humble TOOTHPICK! ... In a time when most eateries in America no longer offer toothpicks, or manage to hide them off in the corner, or behind a plant or placard, we salute the lowly toothpick as being part of the heritage of Washington County! ... Oh, please deliver us from those places that put out the cellophane-wrapped toothpicks --- SANITIZED FOR YOUR PROTECTION ... What are they trying to do to our time-honored tradition of tooth picking? ... And, it probably costs more money to put those little slivers of wood into the plastic than the toothpick was worth. Talk about pollution to the environment. You KNOW those cellophane pieces are going to end up thrown to the ground. Plastic does not degrade very well, does it? ... I recall a time when most every cafe, or other type of eatery, in the community had some unique ways to dispense the toothpick ... Usually, as you walked out the door, there was a counter top or other pedestal whereby they kept the toothpicks ... One dispenser was one that, the now defunct, Washington County State Bank gave out to the merchants. It was a sort of bullet-shaped apparatus mounted on a circular base. The upper part was clear plastic and the rest of the dispenser was an off-white, egg shell color. What you did was push down on the bullet top and out sprang a toothpick or two. It was spring-loaded and always bounced back into place. As a kid, THAT was something. And, we kids probably broke a lot of them playing around. Another type of toothpick dispenser on the scene was the roller box type. It consisted of a metal or wooden box-like container that had a dial roller on the right-hand side. You turned the knob and out rolled a toothpick. You kept swinging the dial back and forth and walked out with several picks. About those picks. The good eateries provided solid, sturdy, sharp-ended picks that stood up to the manly and serious tooth-picking that only Texans can do. The less-than-good eateries used those flat, flimsy, and only one end pointed toothpicks. They just didnt get the job done. Broke off between your teeth more often than not ... And ... some toothpicks were even multi-colored. As if we cared ... The best toothpicks were made of bamboo and sharp at BOTH ends and were durable and long-lasting. Why a real Texan could save that old pick and use it over and over again for years. (Well, at least a couple more times. We stuck them in the sun visor for future use.) ... Cheaper eateries simply placed a pile of toothpicks in a bowl or an oblong condiments ceramic holder and let you pick up your pick. Not so sanitary, but effective. Of course, they failed to realize that they would use up more picks that way, as folk tended to grab a handful and use the rest at home. Then, there was one toothpick dispenser that had the lever on the right side that allowed you to pump it up and down and get your pick. Same way as the dial roller, only much more convenient and easier to use. When all else failed on those fancy dispensers, you just popped open the top and reached in and grabbed a load of picks. And, often was the case that those dial rollers and lever pushing dispensers would get stuck or fail to function properly. Of course, some eateries also used empty salt shakers or sugar shakers to put their picks in. Those didnt always do the job very well ... Another of the simpler methods was to put a load of picks in a shot glass or small water glass. Worked great. Sanitary? No. ... There were MANY novel and unique dispensers on the market and far too many to talk about or show here. Some were fads. Some have endured from yesterday through today ... But ... my all-time favorite pick container was an old Louisiana Hot Sauce bottle that was cleaned and filled with toothpicks. The top was left off and all you had to do was tilt the bottle over and out peeked your pick. You took your pick and never touched the others. You kept tilting and taking until you had all you wanted. And ... those bottles usually were placed on EVERY table in the joint. It was sort of a Standard Texas Eatery Item ... You could judge whether the place was REAL or not by the fact that they put those toothpick bottles on the table and the waitress (NEVER called a SERVER) had on a pastel or checkered uniform and a name tag that always said something such as FLO ... ANN ... SALLY ... PATTY ... or some other Texas gal name that let you know THIS was a comfort food reality about to take place. Now ... if youve got another type of toothpick dispenser we failed to mention here, please share it with us here and now ... Yep. Those old toothpick dispensers of yesteryear sure were something. A few of those types are still to be found around Washington County and Texas. However ... its just getting harder and harder to find where many places are hiding their picks today ... Like my younger Son once said as I paid the family dining check at a pricey eatery once a long time ago, Dad ... Its a good thing the toothpicks are FREE! ... (And, THAT is a true story.) ... HAPPY PICKING BANANA HEADS! ....
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 22:30:47 +0000
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