Dine. Travel. Design.

Nothing short of awesome.

Dutchland Drive-thru in West Bridgewater, MA
For snacks, goodies, and all your convenience store necessities.

This is such a clever (and marketable) way to bridge emotional connection to comfort foods, as well as addressing chocolate for health benefits!

The range, which includes The Chocolate First Aid Kit, Mini Emergency chocolate bars, and Seven Day Prescriptions, will be available across the UK from Waitrose, John Lewis and Fenwick.

via DesignWeek

A couple weeks ago I made a new friend and found out about Green Drinks. Last week I attended my first gathering. Get together with friends and strangers alike at a pre-determined location (that changes each meeting, so make sure you’re on the local email list!) Talk about things-green (or not green) and meet some interesting people over food and beverages Simple and fun.

Check out the very simple, yet necessary information at the Green Drinks site. They have groups worldwide!

Wasara: a line of disposable paper tableware made from reed pulp and bagasse (sugarcane waste), inspired by Japanese aesthetics.

So refined! So simple! So elegant! Plain beautiful.

via DesignVerb

Another one of those products we all wish we thought of first!

A great little container that has an outer flexible shell for ice-cube making and an inner container to store those ice-cubes or anything else you may want to keep cold (ice cream, dip, wine..)

Remove the inner container and partially fill the outer shell with water. Place inner container back into the outer shell to displace the water and fill the Orb. Freeze and voila! Ice-cubes are ready to be popped out of the shell and into the container or take the whole thing with you as a mini-chiller.

Demo and Purchase IceOrb here from FusionBrands.

via CoolHunting

Chopsticks for those who need a little assistance!

Chork by lrstudiofurniture

Tukaani by Lincoln Kayiwa
via MocoLoco

Beautiful and Brilliant:

Makes being in the kitchen much more fun and exciting. Even adults are allowed to enjoy ‘kids colors’

via MocoLoco

I came across this article from Metropolis Magazine and although it’s mainly speaking of graphics, I do believe it applies to other aspects of design from furniture and tableware to uniform of the servers and staff, which food/restaurant critics often do not comment on, but in passing.

“Perhaps there would be more reason to stress graphic design if critics paid attention to it. But they never mention graphics and, truth be told, barely assess the architecture (even when designed by Pritzker Prize winners). And while I savor the tasty prose of gifted food writers, if I were a critic, my readers would be treated to a regular menu of cuisine and design in an attempt to right the imbalance.”

It’s not only decor and graphics that dictate the identity of a restaurant, but the rest of the experience that probes at the senses make an impression on identity. How comfortable was that chair? How well was the knife designed to easily cut into the delicious steak? These things could be added to the last paragraph of the article…

“To convey the total dining experience it’s essential to include details that add to a restaurant’s overall personality. Granted, graphic design can never be the paramount reason for a diner investing time, money, and calories, but when viewed as a whole it should be worthy enough to be noted and occasionally celebrated.”

Read it here.
(I’m not disagreeing with Metropolis, simply wishing to include more..)

All this wasted food, I’m sure it doesn’t help that American’s always buy in bulk; there’s always something gone to waste.
via Core77

But, there’s hope! At least one local Boston restaurant has gone green to the extent of composting waste, energy saving, recycling, and eating locally. Now, we just have to start doing all of this in our own homes.

An interesting way to turn product packaging into a souvenir:

This is really quite smart.

Design your own bottle at 1800tequila.
Or purchase 1800 Tequila Essential Artists Bottles here.

Read more about this campaign via InventorSpot

Plymouth, MA, USA

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Last night my chef-cousin, took me out for a belated birthday at a new restaurant called Achilles-Project/Persephone. The concept is quite interesting, trendy food and atmosphere that’s eco-conscious combined with a retail environment. Who would have thought? Plus video games. What more does one need? Food. Fun. Shopping.

Above image: sliding concept- tables push together or separate to accommodate small and large parties. This sliding concept carries through other aspects: clothes racks slide on ceiling tracks to make room for video game playing and sliding chalk board covers the window between the kitchen and dining room. Subtle and well thought out.

Now, onto the food. Great, simple presentation. Elegant. On the other hand, I was not blown away by the food itself. Lumiere in Newton (run by the same chef) was much better.
Weird food: I love trying. Below is the “beef bone-marrow”. I’ve only ever had it before in Chinese soup. This time around was not expected- too much salt and butter with the consistency of bone-marrow (which is like mushy-fat…yum) was not too yum, as it felt like we were actually eating fat.

Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh. We did have a good experience and I would certainly go back for the interesting cocktails and atmosphere rather than for the pure food experience.