Restaurantware in the modern home?

[Alice Blue]

Our current mid-century dishes (Royal Staffordshire Tonquin) have a tendency to develop cracks in the microwave and also chip fairly easily. I just ran across restaurantware when looking for a more durable option, and there’s a series that I like the looks of.

Does anyone know how older “vitrified” restaurantware does in the microwave and dishwasher?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I use a combination of 1940s Buffalo China and Caribe China, salvaged from the cellar of a closed lunchroom, for my daily dishes, and have been using the same ones since the late '80s. I often reheat meals on the plates in the microwave and have had no problems with chipping or cracking. Can't speak to dishwashers, because I don't have one, but no microwave damage is noticed at all. They're not as shiny as they used to be after decades of constant use, but then again, neither am I.

 

[Fading Fast]

I can echo Lizzie's comments on old Buffalo China because that is what we use (with some repro Buffalo China purchased to fill in some gaps). We have had the same experience as Lizzie in that it does fine in the microwave - no chipping or cracking. Like Lizzie, we don't have a dishwasher, so I can't comment on that. Finally and also like Lizzie, we're not as shinny as we once were either.

 

[Alice Blue]

Thank you both for the information. I think I would like to pick up some green stripe restaurantware, but am a bit overwhelmed at the moment as there is *so much* of the stuff! It looks as though numerous manufacturers had a green stripe line, and you can buy similar plates today from restaurant suppliers.

It seems a bit strange that I have never seen green stripe ware in real life since it is so ubiquitous.

 

[Fading Fast]

Thank you both for the information. I think I would like to pick up some green stripe restaurantware, but am a bit overwhelmed at the moment as there is *so much* of the stuff! It looks as though numerous manufacturers had a green stripe line, and you can buy similar plates today from restaurant suppliers.

It seems a bit strange that I have never seen green stripe ware in real life since it is so ubiquitous.

You're welcome. When I moved to New York City in the 1980s, I saw green-stripe ware in diners, coffee shops, etc., quite often (still see it now, but rarely), but unfortunately, many of those places have closed since, because as NYC's economy came back, the rising rents priced many of those types of restaurants out of business. My unsolicited advice is to just choose the green-stripe ones you personally like, buy and enjoy.

 

[tonyb]

Bought this stuff for a buck per piece from a breakfast-and-lunch joint that was going out of business. That was, geez, 30(?) years ago. I doubt it was particularly old at that time, but I couldn’t definitively say either way.

 

[tonyb]

And I suppose it’s safe to assume that commercial duty tableware is dishwasher safe, even the truly “vintage” stuff, seeing how dishwashers were standard fixtures in restaurants long before they were the norm in domestic settings.

 

[Bugguy]

You're welcome. When I moved to New York City in the 1980s, I saw green-stripe ware in diners, coffee shops, etc., quite often (still see it now, but rarely), but unfortunately, many of those places have closed since, because as NYC's economy came back, the rising rents priced many of those types of restaurants out of business. My unsolicited advice is to just choose the green-stripe ones you personally like, buy and enjoy.

We've been following the 'buy what you like and enjoy' approach for several years. As noted there are plenty of examples of green-stripe dinnerware. We have been collecting the style pictured below and exclusively the Homer Laughlin product (https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/474). We have not bought from eBay; that's like cheating on the search - takes the fun out of it. We never worried about the dishwasher - this is the polar opposite of fine bone china.