NYC’s Nami Nori Restaurant Turns Hand Rolls into Tacos
It is not often Pinch Food Design are equally impressed by food and design innovation with the same intensity. But Nami Nori, a new Japanese restaurant in NYC’s West Village, has officially blown us away. Besides the three founders all being alums of Masa, the only 3-Michelin-star sushi restaurant in the country, Nami Nori has captivated our creative senses with their show stopping take on temaki served up “taco style” on perfectly cut wood blocks in a laid back Cali-Scandi-Japanese décor.
Keep it up All-You-Can-Eat-Press… We Are Hungry for More!
While strolling the aisles of New York’s Shoppe Object Show at Pier 36, Pinch Food Design stumbled across an amazing designer Yuki Matsuo. Her passion project, All-You-Can-Eat-Press, is a Brooklyn-based independent publishing company that celebrates everyday food for everyday people. United by a mutual love for vernacular cuisine and the unique flavor of the surrounding local culture, its founders follow their hearts (and stomachs) to find new favorite dishes, restaurants and specialty shops, then serve them up in brightly wrapped, easily-digestible portions to food lovers everywhere.
Making the Best with What You Have…
In a time where many of us are forced to slow down… forage… and keep it local, Pinch Food Design decided to write about two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Blaine Wetzel’s latest book, Lummi – Island Cooking.
Roche I + II, Roche Mannifères — Dissimulaits \\\ Work by Ptohograhpies
Too Cheesy?
Pinch Food Design stumbled upon these photographs of cheese set against marble backdrops by art collective Ptohograhpies who won the Berlin Art Prize in 2014 for these very images. At first they made them chuckle… a visual representation of the cheese on display in a curated environment strongly paralleled their feelings about all these ZOOM meetings. But there was something more about them… so Pinch Food Design couldn’t NOT write about them.
Taste the Rainbow with United Sodas of America
United Sodas of America’s colorful sleek matte cans make brains tingle with excitement like the first time stumbling upon the infamous tumblr “things organized neatly.” The soda brand launched with 12 flavor varieties, made from high-quality ingredients, and without the unhealthy chemicals often found in soda.
Farm-to-Tableware: Grass-Fed Bone China by Gregg Moore
As people who design products centered around food, Pinch Food Design is naturally drawn to materials that are found in kitchens: marble, wood, cork, stainless steel… but when they learned about Gregg Moore’s technique for turning cow parts normally considered waste – BONES – into porcelain… their brains went straight to the compost bin – what other possibilities are we all passing up?!
Squeeze Fresh Juice with These Ring and Knuckle Juicers
Not only are these “rings” design objects that push the idea that form follows function… they also are a fun way to persuade people to upgrade their bartending skills with the use of fresh juice in their cocktails! The Ring Juicer and Knuckle Juicer feature a conventional reamer head paired with double finger holes for the Ring Juicer and an ergonomic knuckle-shaped handle for the Knuckle Juicer, forming decidedly unconventional takes on the classic kitchen and bar tool.
Introducing Parcel by Pinch Food Design: Catering Re-Imagined Again
We could all use a memorable, fun, and delicious escape… luckily this is Pinch Food Design’s specialty. Pinch launched Parcel, an elevated, at-home, food and beverage experience, meant to connect people, even when they’re apart. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, it couldn’t have arrived at a better time.
Corona Food Masks Portrait Series by hej studio
Hej studio, a multidisciplinary food branding and design studio based in Bregenz, Austria and Copenhagen, Denmark challenged themselves to create face masks that are more natural and pleasant than those we associate with hospitals and sterile environments. After playing with cabbage, radicchio, and other conforming veggies, they created this striking Corona Food Masks portrait series.
Giving Peace of Mind and a Piece of Cake!
With the pandemic looming over us, Pinch couldn’t help think of all the different ways our celebrations will have to change… and the birthday cake was definitely top of the list. And then they stumbled upon this brilliant design, Top It Cake Shield, a doctor-invented cake shield created to protect party goers of all ages from spreading germs over cakes while blowing out candles.
Photo: Andy Barter
Gift Unique and Unexpected Chocolates by London-Based BRIK
London-based chocolate company BRIK is breaking the mold with its approach to chocolate. Headed by Danish designer Kia Utzon-Frank (great niece of Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon) and retail strategist Raffaella Baruzzo, BRIK uses textures, materials and architectural surfaces as inspiration for its creations and as a vehicle for amazing flavor combinations.
Caroline Williamson is Editorial Director of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.
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