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Concrete chic

This is not your mom's dishware. It's not dainty, or pretty, or porcelain, or precious. When lifting one of these mugs to your lips, your pinky finger will not--I repeat, will not--be tempted to rise. No, these bowls, plates, and mugs are of the rougher variety. They are, after all, made of concrete.

What once was the humble material of sidewalks, or blocks a mobster might tie to a body to sink it to the depths of the ocean's floor, is now the inspiration for modern tableware. Want to infuse a little street into your dinner party? … Read more

A gadget that's icing on the cupcake

Once I realized I could bake, the gift-giving holidays changed completely--never to be the same again. I have a big immediate family, so for several years it was only them who got to be on the receiving end of my gift budget, while roommates, school friends, and colleagues got a verbal wish for a happy holiday. If I really liked them, maybe they would get a candy cane. It wasn't that I didn't care; it was that after the sisters and brothers, I just couldn't afford it.

Then, one year, in the wake of my first successful … Read more

Chubby Brothers try their hand at camouflage

In the design of dining sets, the cost of beauty too often comes at the cost of comfort. If you've ever been asked to sit on a chair covered in plastic, then you know what I'm talking about. My mom had a very dramatic, very pretty dining room set when I was growing up, but I have very few memories of actually eating on it. What I do remember is the annoying feeling of crinkly plastic under me during dinner. Is this the price we have to pay for a dining room table that's worth looking at? … Read more

An extra-solid dish rack

Even those of us with the best dishwashers in the world have at least a few dishes and kitchen tools that we wash by hand. Grandma's china, the big cast iron skillet--there are plenty of things in our kitchens that just aren't dishwasher-friendly. If you do any amount of hand-washing, though, you know the importance of a solid dish rack. Sure, you can get a small plastic dish rack from Wal-Mart, but there are some better options out there.

Simplehuman's new Steel Frame Dishrack is one of those options. In addition to its much nicer appearance, the … Read more

Just another excuse to eat ice cream

If you were reading the Appliances and Kitchen Gadgets blog a couple of days ago, you may have seen a post about an ice cream scoop that creates stackable ice cream pucks. If you were amused by the idea of creating mile-high ice cream cones (and you haven't already left to get the Cuisipro Ice Cream Scoop), then chances are that you'll get a kick out of this Cone Baker by Nemco.

The industrial-strength waffle-cone baker preheats in 12 minutes and creates up to 60 cones per grid-surface per hour (that's 120 ice cream cones per hour … Read more

Artistic lunch boxes for artistic kids

It's back-to-school time, so we here at the CNET appliance blog are on a bit of a lunch-box jag. But who can blame us? The lunch box is one of the most ubiquitous education accessories; it's always been functional, but maybe now it can be awesome, too.

If no other lunch box has been able to satisfy your child's artistic interest, you might consider the one the Museum of Modern Art's is offering: the Modern Kids Lunch Tote. It's a soft, zippered lunch box, with lots of mesh compartments to hold drinks and snacks. It'… Read more

Make your scoops stackable

Has anyone ever tried to create those ice-cream-parlor-style double scoops at home? Did they turn out like you had planned? Yeah, I thought so.

Maybe you could make a multiscoop tower of frozen goodness if you had a supply of gigantic waffle cones on hand, but if you're trying to fit that much ice cream in a normal-size cone, chances are that you'll run into problems. If you think about it, you wouldn't try to stack bouncy balls or baseballs, so why should you try to stack spherical balls of ice cream? And have you ever tried … Read more

Take your lunch on the go

A lot of schools have already started their fall semesters, but some families are still searching for that perfect lunch box. The Lunch & Go Lunchbox is a pretty good option if you're still looking.

The Lunch & Go is simpler--at least aesthetically--than many other lunch-case options, but it's pretty much what I had in mind the year I started 5th grade. That year I told my mom, "I don't want a little kid's lunch box anymore."

It fits nicely inside a backpack, as well as messenger bags and other book bags.

This lunch … Read more

Sliced butter: Best thing since sliced bread

I am not very good with a butter dish. Either that, or I'm not very good with a knife. One way or the other, butter ends up on the floor. Sometimes it's just the pat of butter I'm trying to free from the rest of the stick, sometimes it's the butter dish, and sometimes it's everything: butter, knife, and toast. Since I have never been one to play by the 5-second rule, it gets thrown out and I try again. There's a reason they call it butterfingers.

So anyway, after I remember that I … Read more

Your fruit is safe in here

When Junior returns to school for the fall, you'll probably pack him a lunch. If you pack a piece of fruit, it's going to roll around, get bruised, and probably be less than appealing by the time he gets to the cafeteria. The Concentrate Fruit-Friendly Lunch Box offers a little added protection for those apples and oranges.

The lunch box is plastic and comes with two "pots," ideal for holding grapes, nuts, or fruit that you want to slice up ahead of time. The box has two round areas for holding the pots of fruit securely … Read more