Since time immemorial, silverware has found a way to walk out of dining rooms. But the golden age of modern restaurant theft occurred in the early 2000s.

That's when, as chefs became celebrities and dining out became high theater, well-designed restaurants turned regular customers into cunning thieves. In a story on the subject in 2002, the New York Times highlighted several items that had been stolen from notable restaurants: a $1,200 silver Champagne bucket from Locke-Ober in Boston and a $1,000 fish-shaped bamboo lamp from Dahlia Lounge in Seattle, among others. At New York's Eleven Madison Park, someone managed to remove one of the two dozen framed vintage photographs, sourced by then-owner Danny Meyer, from the dining room wall out in the open; its value was about $1,500.

These days we're deep in the Brooklyn aesthetic, so there aren't many silver Champagne buckets lying around, and diners have found more unconventional items to covet. We're not just talking about that one charming teaspoon or mini vase, or the mismatched coupe — not to mention toilet paper — that often finds its way into someone's pocket on a larcenous whim. Here, we've gathered tales of significant items that have been taken from restaurants, from the seemingly worthless to the unwieldy.