All posts filed under: Things for Eating

HipPops Handcrafted Gelato Bars

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I don’t usually cover food on this blog but I couldn’t resist sharing the cleverly named HipPOPs brand of handcrafted frozen desserts, including gelato bars, sorbet, and frozen yogurt (Disclaimer: Unfortunately I have not tasted the desserts so I can’t vouch for the flavor). Introduced recently into the Florida market, HipPOP founder Anthony Fellows hopes to eventually franchise the concept. At the core of HipPOPs are natural, gluten-free, kosher frozen pops on a stick that are made from small, handcrafted batches at the company’s micro-creamery in Dania Beach, Florida. While I have not had a chance to actually taste the pops, I like the aesthetic of the truck and the pops, particularly how the dip doesn’t cover the entire pop so that you can peek at the flavor beneath. HipPOPs makes more than 100 flavors, 15 to 20 of which are featured daily on their truck. Customers choose from gelato, sorbet, or frozen yogurt, and three kinds of premium signature Belgian chocolate dips and several crushed-nut “poppings”, including finely crushed pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans.

Studio Visit: Black + Blum

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It was a bit ironic that my first visit to the London studio of Black + Blum was during the summer edition of the New York International Gift Fair. It was during that show several years ago where I first encountered the company’s quirky, functional gadgets. During a trip to London in August, I sat down with Martin Blum at the Black + Blum studio/shop located in the OXO Tower on the south bank of the Thames. Blum was holding down the fort at home while his business partner Dan Black introduced new products at the Javits Center in New York. Blum and Black first met when they were design students at Newcastle University. After working well together on a few group projects, “we realized that we had something going,” says Blum. “It’s quite rare to find someone you can work well with.”  A few years after school the two got together and started a firm in 1998. After operating as a design consultancy for two years, they had a literal “lightbulb” moment after designing …

Kohler Original Recipe Chocolate Eggs

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One of the best kept secrets about plumbing giant Kohler Co. is that in addition to making toilets, showers, and tubs out of Kohler, Wisconsin, the company also makes incredible handmade chocolates. Available for a limited time, these speckled eggs come in milk and dark chocolate with ganache centers infused with flavors like cognac, strawberries and cream, and peanut butter. If you aren’t near Kohler’s Craverie Chocolatier Cafe don’t worry,  you can also order the eggs online. $29.95 for a 9 piece set; $15.95 for a four piece set.

KINTO Tableware

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One of the best things about going to the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) each season is discovering manufacturers that I never heard of and becoming a fan before I’ve left the booth. At this winter’s show, that company was KINTO Co. Founded in 1972 as a wholesaler of porcelain and ceramic tableware in Japan’s Shiga prefecture, the company began to develop their own designs in glass, wood, ceramic, and other materials, for the Japanese lifestyle in the 1990s, and started a full-scale export business in 2009. Based on the simple premise of creating products “to make our lives comfortable”, their line includes a range of coffee and tea related pieces as well as other designs. New this year is the Couleur teapot set, which combines a modern design form with the classic Japanese teapot. The microwave- and dishwasher-safe set includes a pot, cup, and saucer. Inside the pot, the spout is covered by a delicate porcelain strainer that is an example of the company’s craftsmanship. KINTO also launched an elegantly glazed new tableware …

Unnecessary Things: Cookie Spoons

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I love learning about new kitchen gadgets and tools, but more than a few times I’ve come across a product where my reaction is more “Why?” than “Wow!”. That’s the case with The Dipr, a hook-like device designed to cradle the center of a sandwich cookie so that you can dip it into milk more easily. At the surface, the Dipr is an innocuous new way to enjoy eating cookies. But do we really need a new tool to help kids (and adults) eat their cookies more efficiently? With the country’s skyrocketing obesity rates, I think we are probably managing just fine. Healthy eating issues aside, I always thought that it was part of the experience to get your fingers wet with milk when you dunk a cookie. And I know we aren’t dining at Downton Abbey, but must we walk around our homes sucking moist cookies off of plastic hooks?

Takenaka Bento-Box

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While walking around this summer’s New York Gift Show, i spotted these colorful and glossy Bento Boxes. Handmade in Japan by Takenaka, these adorable containers have removable partitions and come in 13 colors and seven styles, making it easy to remember which one is yours when you have to run out the door in the morning. The color choice can also make sure one is only used for veggie dishes or kosher dishes, if so desired. Dishwasher and microwave safe.