YumSugar

Introducing the iHam

YumSugar — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:21:51 -0800

I like to think that I keep abreast of new technology. After all, I've got an iPhone, use iPhoto, and iTunes; however, I am ashamed to say that I do not have an iHam (or iJam if you're in Spain).

In what is clearly a spoof of the Apple iLife, the iHam 5Js promises to revolutionize the world of design and entertainment. Not to mention diet and happiness. And if ham is not your thing, don't worry there's iLoin - now with a sleeker 23-inch design - and the iHam Nano (presliced pieces of ham, for those who cannot handle the whole leg). Also, if you're wondering what to do with your iHam, don't fret, there are many peripherals - iBread, iCocktail Stick, and iKnife to name a few - that will help you further enjoy your iHam.

If you're still confused about it all then check out the guided tour video. To do so, just read more.

Messy Tablecloth: Love It or Hate It?

YumSugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:27:31 -0800

This morning, a friend of mine sent me the link to this Messy tablecloth by Polish group AZE design. The plain white tablecloth is embroidered with outlines of plates, cutlery, a cheese board, serving spoons, and more. I think it would be fun to try and put dishes in the right place - except for maybe that spilled wine glass - but I don't know if I'd actually use it as my main tablecloth. What do you think? Would you use it?

An Exhausting Way to Cook a Burger

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:18:31 -0800

Would you like a nice charbroiled burger? Oh wait, did I say charbroiled, I meant Car-broiled. That's right, I said car.

A group of inventors have created the Exhaust Burger that allows you to drive and cook burgers at the same time. The exhaust goes through the top of the contraption - don't worry, the exhaust doesn't actually touch the burger - and heats the metal. The metal then cooks the burger, sort of like a George Foreman grill, only there's nowhere for the grease to go. The product is still in the concept phase, but I can see where it could be helpful - no extra fuel or energy needed - however, there's something about it that just seems wrong. Wouldn't it just be a greasy mess? Yet, having said that, you all know I'd be the first in line to see what it tastes like!

Oh and does this remind anyone else of Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt contraption that allows him to cook stew while riding his motorcycle?

Have Your Food and Sit On It Too?

YumSugar — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:49:39 -0700

Conceptual designer Adrian Rovero has come up with a new line of pasta called Sedie. At first glance you're reminded of old-school Campbell's alphabet soup, or maybe even slightly more grown-up, wagon wheels. However, upon closer inspection you'll see that they're actually little chairs! The pasta is extruded from the machine and are formed into little chairs. Just don't sit on them, okay? Something tells me they're not quite sturdy enough.

Source: Core 77

Keep Your Beverages Warm

YumSugar — Thu, 17 May 2007 03:08:21 -0700

Oh those industrial designers always seem to impress me... This time it's the portable beverage heater designed by Seungheon Lee. The molded plastic, single-use device is clipped to the side of a mug and creates heat via fuel cells. The long portion stays immersed in the liquid and thermographic ink changes the logo when the beverage is hot. It's just a concept design at the moment, but I can see something like this coming to market in the future.

Source: Yanko Design

Super Sleek Tea Infuser/Stirrer

YumSugar — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 02:59:19 -0700

My gal geeksugar tipped me off to this super sleek redefined tea bag. The Teastick/Stirrer, designed by Lee Yun Qin functions as a tea bag that hangs to the side of a mug (no more fishing the tea bag out of your mug), as well as a stirrer to easily stir the tea. The simplicity of the form makes me wonder, why hasn't anyone else thought of this before?

No word on whether or not any tea companies will pick this design up, but I have a feeling we'll see it down the line. The only problem I foresee is one that arises if your mug is too short. Also, I would like to see if the leaves would properly unfurl.

Taste Test: Domino's Bread Bowl Pastas

YumSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:00:53 -0700

The world of fast food is certainly quick paced, so the second Domino's begun advertising five flavors of pasta housed in a bread bowl, it seemed everybody was buzzing about it. When Party and I first got word of these monsters, we were simultaneously shocked (who came up with the concept?), appalled, and eager to try them. Yesterday turned out to be the Domino's day of reckoning - to find out how the bowls stood up to their shock value, read more.

It's hard to fathom why Domino's rolled out this concept of carbs inside more carbs, but the fact that competitor Pizza Hut has already racked up more than $500 million in sales of its Tuscani Pastas and lasagna, puts things more into perspective. However, as soon as we opened the delivery, we were faced with many unanswered questions: How many people was each bread bowl supposed to feed? Was the dish designed to be eaten like a pizza, or were we supposed to eat the pasta first, then the bowl?

Pasta Primavera: This bread bowl was filled with pasta, baby spinach, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and a goopy, oily Alfredo sauce. While the sole vegetarian option was filled with vegetables, I questioned whether the dish contained any protein.

Chicken Carbonara: Although this tasted somewhat like carbonara, it was covered with similar globs of white sauce.

Three Cheese Mac-N-Cheese: This was our least favorite. We love macaroni and cheese, but the flavors of the dish - bland, artificial nacho cheese, subpar penne, and a yeasty bread bowl - just did not seem to meld at all.

Italian Sausage Marinara: If we had to choose a best of the tasting, it would have been the Italian Sausage Marinara, which was rather reminiscent of regular pizza delivery with breadsticks. But then again, why not just order pizza and breadsticks?

Chicken Alfredo: All of the bowls were loaded with sodium (I drank water for hours afterward), but the Chicken Alfredo was swimming in a sauce that was over-the-top salty, to the point of being unpleasant to eat.

Unsurprisingly, the Pasta Primavera, Chicken Carbonara, and Chicken Alfredo flavors - which possess the same mysterious creamy white sauce - all taste remarkably similar. The bread bowl itself, which tastes a lot like Domino's breadsticks, was satisfying, but overall, unless we were starving and had no other options, or were carbo loading for a marathon the next day, we wouldn't eat this again.

Have you tried any of the Bread Bowl Pastas? If so, what was your assessment of them?

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Literal Fruit Juice Packaging: Love It or Hate It?

YumSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:50:53 -0700

Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa has designed fruit juice packaging that literally illustrates what fruit the juice came from. Not only is it a contemporary concept, but it's also a nice reminder of where fruit juice is actually derived. How do you feel about the designs? Are they fresh or a little too freaky?

Source

Custom Blends: Frozen Yogurt's Newest Trend?

YumSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:00:04 -0700

If the new pomegranate flavors from Pinkberry and Red Mango don't do it for you, consider this: what if you had an endless number of flavors to choose from?

High-tech blending processes may be the next big wave in the frozen-yogurt trend. That's what I discovered when I visited the San Francisco outpost of Yogen Früz, a fro-yo chain with a high-tech yogurt concept. First, I chose from single-serving packages of a base yogurt in various flavors (low-fat vanilla, nonfat vanilla, or low-fat chocolate) with probiotic cultures.

Then I chose two toppings out of a large selection that included frozen fruits (strawberries, cherries, mangoes, lychees, blueberries, etc.) and dry toppings (Cap'n Crunch, almonds, coconut flakes, granola, and the like). Together they went into a proprietary machine. Twenty seconds later, I was enjoying my lychee mango vanilla creation, which was whipped, creamy, and studded with icy chunks of mango and lychee.

Yogen Früz may have pioneered the idea, but - with specially designed yogurt-blending machines available on the web, other boutique yogurt bars have caught on. Have you tried this type of yogurt? Now that the fancy frozen yogurt trend is waning, do you think custom blended fro-yo could be the next big thing?

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Jean-Georges Creating "the Applebee's of Haute Cuisine"

YumSugar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:30:03 -0700

Famed chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten is up for one of this year's most prestigious James Beard Awards, but that's hardly the biggest thing on his mind. Fortune profiles the New York chef and his aggressive plans to open 50 new restaurants in the next five years.

Vongerichten, who already has 24 restaurants under his belt, has created a joint venture, Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges, with Starwood Hotels and Catterton Partners, a private equity firm credited with turning P.F. Chang's into a national chain. The company's goal? To bring high-end cuisine to the masses in the same way Starbucks brought designer coffee to every corner of the world.

The venture will expand Vongerichten's name with three prototype restaurants: J&G Steakhouse, a steakhouse inspired by the success of Prime in Las Vegas; Spice Market, an homage to Asian street food based on the chef's wildly successful flagship in New York; and Market, a showcase for Vongerichten's signature dishes, such as tuna-wasabi pizza.

This year, Mexico City, Barcelona, Washington, Boston, and Milan are scheduled to open - although Austin, Aspen, and Dubai have already been put on hold given the uncertain economic times. Vongerichten is confident he's got the tools he needs to succeed - and if he doesn't, he can sell the restaurants and remove his name from all of them.

While the heavy expansion may sound overly ambitious given the economic recession, it's not all that different from what others - like Wolfgang Puck - have done. I question whether the Jean-Georges brand can succeed without becoming diluted. What do you think? Do you see this expansion plan being a success?

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