Cool Gift of the Day
Thursday, August 18, 2005
What it is:
A fabulous new utensil, half knife and fork, half chopsticks. The chic, modern answer to the spork.
Why we love it:
So as it turns out, we're pretty good with chopsticks. We learned when we were young, and we eat Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and other Asian cuisines pretty frequently. We like chopsticks, but don't worry, America, that doesn't mean we don't feel your pain. We understand the agony of dropped egg rolls and mangled dumplings, we know the horror that is trying to eat rice. We feel for the chopstick phobic, and even more, we feel for those of you who love the Asian cuisines, but are surrounded by the chopstick illiterate who refuse to eat in a Chinese restaurant for fear of looking like an idiot. These people have a problem, and what are we at Surprise.com if not problem solvers? Enter Forkchops (Yes, really, that's what they're called. Yes, it rhymes with porkchops), the multi-cultural, multi-functional dining tool. On one end, you've got your good old-fashioned fork and knife, turn them around and you've got a set of sleek and streamlined stainless steel chopsticks. They go perfectly with Asian fusion cooking, or a profound lack of dexterity, and they're stylish enough to keep from looking like you've got the flatware equivalent of training wheels. Make sure you're eating-challenged friend is never again mocked quietly by waiters, except, possibly, for bringing their own utensils to a restaurant, which we admit is a little weird, but still better than accidentally flinging your butterfly shrimp across the room.
Who we'd give it to:
Asian fusion lovers, the terminally undextrous, chefs and dinner party hosts.