# Did anyone else know of people who routinely stole condiments/silverwear from restaurants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2022, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039 "2022-02-07T11:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/41 "2022-02-07T22:53:48Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > When I was a kid, I was convinced that those red cups they served drinks to you at Pizza Hut (back when Pizza Hut was a sit down restaurant) made soda taste better. As an _adult_, I’m firmly convinced of that. (Never actually took any, though.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/42 "2022-02-07T22:56:50Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > When I was a kid, I was convinced that those red cups they served drinks to you at Pizza Hut (back when Pizza Hut was a sit down restaurant) made soda taste better. So my mom stole one for me. I definitely remember those cups. When I was in grad school in the late '80s, and had to buy my own cups and dishes, I went to Target, where I found that they had those same red plastic cups for sale – I bought a bunch of them, and we, of course, called them “the Pizza Hut glasses.” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/43 "2022-02-08T00:49:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In the '70s, my grandmother had a collection of ashtrays which she’d taken from various restaurants and bars – she primarily took ones that had the place’s name printed on them; I think that she considered them to be “souvenirs.” See, I think that’s harmless (and actually spreading the bar’s name/logo around). Assuming they’re cheap disposable ones. Now, my friend who’d open her purse beneath the edge of a restaurant table…and quickly slide the salt shaker off the table into it? Hmmm… We asked her what she did with those, and she said “Well, after I get my purse cleaned out, I just put 'em around my bedroom. What? Why salt shakers? Huh, I guess… no, I have no idea.” ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/44 "2022-02-08T01:02:31Z")
Wait, you guys mean these kind of glasses, but in red? > **[Amazon.com | US Acrylic Café 20 ounce Plastic Restaurant Style Stackable Water...](https://www.amazon.com/US-Acrylic-Restaurant-Stackable-Dishwasher/dp/B010E0N7ZU)** > > Shop US Acrylic at the Amazon Dining & Entertaining store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Everyday low prices, save up to 50%. I remember them from diners, mostly. I’ll agree, most beverages taste better in them, and due to the texture, you’re not going to drop them if you have greasy fingers. Though, the Texas Ware outlet was where I got mine. Almost as cheap as stealing them, I guess. Drinking beer out of them is weird to me, though. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/45 "2022-02-08T01:08:44Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Which Hat is that? Usually the Upland location. Sometimes Rancho Cucamonga. Looking through the flatware, I can see several forks and spoons that don’t match my pattern or my mother’s, so they were either left after a dinner party or they were acquisitioned from some restaurant in Vegas. Probably Society Cafe. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/46 "2022-02-08T01:13:53Z")
I was part of a school field trip to Europe (lonnng story…), and the airline (SAS) served nice meals with napkins and the coolest flatware I’d ever seen. Back in the 60’s in The Breadbasket of America, forks were square-ish with four tines, spoons were round, knives were straight. And here I was, staring at a fork that was curvy, futuristic, it was… designed! As the “stewardess” was clearing the meals, I asked if I could keep my silverware. She replied conspiratorially, “Only if I don’t see you.” and closed her eyes. For fifty years, those were “mine”. If we had a special dessert, my mom would serve mine with my “Swedish Spoon” in it. eta: Found a set that looks like what I _ **Pilfered With Permission**!_ [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/9jcAAOSwDeBiAW6H/s-l1600.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/9jcAAOSwDeBiAW6H/s-l1600.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/47 "2022-02-08T01:17:38Z")
If I ever ate in a restaurant that used the same flatware as they do on _Iron Chef America_ I’ll clank every time I walk out of the place. I love that design. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/48 "2022-02-08T01:23:19Z")
A bit of an off-topic tie-in to another current CS thread: sometimes you just _ **need** _ to steal a piece of restaurant silverware for survival’s sake. For example, in episode 8 of Reacher, Jack snags a fork from the diner and plants it in the sidewall of the car in order to create a distraction a few miles down the road. ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/49 "2022-02-08T01:39:25Z")
A few coworkers and i used to order our lunch beers in those plastic cups. This custom started after the boss began checking up on the lunch crew at the bar across from work, and eventually suspended several of us for drinking on the job. The plastic cups made it look like we were having pop. We asked the bartender for “The Rick Special”. Rick was a coworker who got the shakes if he didnt have a beer or two for lunch. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/50 "2022-02-08T01:40:21Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > Which Hat is that? > > Usually the Upland location. Sometimes Rancho Cucamonga. Wow. Just checked and I’m shocked at how many locations they have now. Sadly, none on the Westside. I went to the Monterey Park, Alhambra, or Pasadena ones most often. ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/51 "2022-02-08T01:48:57Z")
Mrs. Trees waitressed at a buffet for nearly twenty years. The buffet is the butt of many jokes, exacerbated by a recent news story. Mrs. Tree is no thief, but we have an endless supply of rags and steak knives that have made it home in her apron. We never wanted for hot sauce either. Despite it being a terrible restaurant, her experience there was positive. She only quit because of covid: nobody wanted to eat at a buffet last year. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/52 "2022-02-08T01:51:25Z")
> [@digs](#): > > See, I think that’s harmless (and actually spreading the bar’s name/logo around). Assuming they’re cheap disposable ones. They were glass or ceramic, but, yes, I think that it likely would have been ascribed by the bars as a marketing expense. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/53 "2022-02-08T01:54:23Z")
I used to take a pocketful of the after-dinner mints Chik-Fil-A used to have out with the napkins and condiments. I guess COVID took all that away. The only other thing I remember taking from a restaurant was one of those plastic pepper shakers from my local McDonalds. I was really broke right then, and the three 39 cent cheeseburgers I ate were a decadent splurge. The pepper in that thing lasted me nearly a year at home. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/54 "2022-02-08T02:13:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > They were glass or ceramic, but, yes, I think that it likely would have been ascribed by the bars as a marketing expense. Most likely. I was a regular at a Toronto pub about thirty years ago, and if you wanted a souvenir ashtray, all you had to do was ask. Mine broke during a move in the years since, but I still have my coffee mug with the pub logo on it. Same for the beer glasses bearing the logos and names of various beers. They were either supplied at no charge by the breweries, or at a steep discount to pubs. Again, all you had to do at this pub was ask, and they would let you have one. I’ve still got a few of those. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/55 "2022-02-08T04:05:38Z")
I have a tendency to hang on to extra fast food napkins. Having a few in my purse or my work lunch bag can be handy. I don’t deliberately grab extra for that purpose (seems greedy to me), but any survivors of what was obtained for that meal tend to get stashed until needed. Yes, I was especially prone to that in spring of 2020. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/56 "2022-02-08T05:56:16Z")
My mom would also open up her purse and put the little cake triangles from Buffet Desert Bars into it, her excuse was “Hey I can’t take this back they’ll just throw it out” despite the fact she seemed to deliberately get 5 pieces of cake or pie but only ate one. She even had her purse prelined with a plastic bag so none of the stickiness dirtied up her purse either. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/57 "2022-02-08T06:00:06Z")
Pretty much. My childhood memory was that Pizza Hut’s cups had a slightly different texture on the outside. Like more rougher. Childhood memories being what they are, I could be mistaken though. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/58 "2022-02-08T06:18:36Z")
A couple coffee cups with interesting logos came home with me. One came from an old Cafe that I knew was closing soon. The owners were excited to retire. The old stuff wasn’t worth much and might have gotten thrown out. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/59 "2022-02-08T06:33:41Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I was part of a school field trip to Europe (lonnng story…), and the airline (SAS) served nice meals with napkins and the coolest flatware I’d ever seen. > > . . . > > eta: Found a set that looks like what I _ **Pilfered With Permission**!_ Nice spoons! 😉 Inspired by this thread, I went through my silverware drawer, and found my airline spoons. Weirdly, my Air Canada spoons have the airline logo on the back, not the front, as your SAS ones do. I do have a Nordair spoon (Nordair was a regional Quebec airline that went out of business years ago), with the logo on the front, but my Air Canada ones–nope. The logos are on the back, along with the company that made them, which in all cases seems to be located in South Korea. Just to add, my habit of liberating airline spoons is not the root of my username. I got that for an entirely different reason, which does not belong in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039/60 "2022-02-08T13:03:30Z")
I kinda forgot about when we were about to head off for a couple of months backpacking, I’d go to the Wendy’s and grab a handful of condiments to take with us. They had everything in separate packets, salt, pepper, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, even toothpicks, etc. It took up very little space but came in very handy, when they were just what you needed. But they have to be in a pocket of your day pack, it’s no good if you’re buying food through the bus window but your condiments are in your pack, tied on the roof! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-know-of-people-who-routinely-stole-condiments-silverwear-from-restaurants/959039.md?page=4)