via Phaidon

Eataly one of my new favorite spots  in NYC opened by two of my favorite chefs Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali. Eataly has everything from gelato to homemade pasta. It is a marketplace and an eating space all in one. Eataly is located in Flatiron on 5th Avenue. Definitely check it out! Phaidon has an excellent picture gallery of the inside of Eataly.

I recently ate at Lalezar’s in Montclair, NJ and had a delicious Turkish dinner. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant in addition to the way they presented the bill to us in this unique box.

I was recently at Dylan’s Candy Bar which is reminiscent of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. It contains three floors of sweet treats and magical goodness. Dylan’s was created and owned by Dylan Lauren the daughter of designer Ralph Lauren. I love how the wall of the check out counter utilizes jumbo size candy such as gumballs, runts and sweedish fish.

I am a part of the AIGA’s Mentor Program and I was recently with my mentee, Jennifer and we discovered Sur la table. This store is both a chefs and bakers dream. It has everything you can think of from cake pans to kitchen linens. I love the details of their branding like the above photo with the door handles being a fork and spoon and their tag line “The Art and Soul of Cooking.”

With the holidays approaching this is a great gift idea! This well designed, humorous knife block will definitely look beautiful on any kitchen counter top. Designed by Raffaele Lannello the man knife holder comes complete with five quality stainless steel knives included and is avaliable in red, black, pink, white, chrome or gold effect finishes. The Ex Voodo Knife Block will definitely be a conversation starter. This can be purchased in the US at Amazon.com and other online stores.

Staying on the topic of recommendations I was at Wegmans over the weekend and thought it was great concept to have a recipe of only a few simple ingredients hanging above the olive bar area/cheese department. What is even more unique about this signage is that the recipes are from Wegman’s own magazine Menu. I think its great they provide their customers with simple quick recipes with delicious and fresh ingredients on a budget. In addition they direct their customers to their website in order to get more recipes and tips. The shopper has an experience in the store and then can continue it at home at their convenience. This is just another example of how recommendations are personalized the specific retailer’s demographic and customer base.

From the balcony of my hotel room in San Diego I could see this cute little cafe/deli Spicy Pickle but wasn’t sure if it was worth checking out since there were so many great restaurants in the area. One day on the way out I decided to stop there to grab a quick bite to eat. I really liked the interior design and wall art as it had a vintage feel to it. Oh and I ordered the med sub. Definitely tasty.

I went to Williams Sonoma recently and came across this beautifully designed BBQ sauce packaging. The typography treatment is what drew me to these bottles immediately. I am assuming it tastes as good as the type looked. I also thought it was clever to display them in a basket in the store to give it a summer,
BBQ, picnic feel.

When I was in La Jolla I stopped in Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, a store that could have been in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In fact they actually had that movie playing in the back of the store with theater seats with the candies from the movie surrounding it. I loved the sign of Powell’s and how they were hung throughout the store for Gelato, Check Out, etc. Of course I also loved the sweets, many of their packaging and the gelato.