Archive for the 'Laptop Lunchbox' Category

(Chronologically Listed)

RIP Ichiban Kan online

My apologies to everyone for dropping off the face of the earth lately — it’s been a weird time and I’ve been going through something of a crisis. (Arg.) Time to get back on the bento ball! Lots of updates today; with Ichiban Kan closing its online store and opening a new San Bruno retail location in the Tanforan Mall, a kiwifruit recipe contest that I’ll be judging with a US$2,500 grand prize, a recent Lunch 2.0 round table blogger discussion I moderated, a new bento cookbook that’s out, and more.

1. Ichiban Kan closes online store

First off, I’m sad to say that Ichiban Kan recently closed its online store, although its retail stores in the SF Bay Area remain open. They were a good US source of cheap bento gear (like US$1!), and I’m sad to see them go. Products seemed to fly off the shelves, so there’s hope that they’ll be back — check their blog for updates. Fingers crossed that they change their business model and reopen the online store, maybe at increased prices to remain viable. I mean, cheap is good and all, but not if it drives them out of business!

In any event, Ichiban Kan has opened a new retail store in the Tanforan Mall in San Bruno, CA, so if you’re nearby you might want to check that out (1150 El Camino Real, San Bruno, CA 94066, tel: 650-244-9920). For additional sources, check out my list of online stores for bento gear, as well as the Bento Store Locator with Google Maps and reader feedback for retail sources near you. (Read on for details of a recipe contest with $2,500 prize, a Lunch 2.0 round table that I moderated, a new bento cookbook, and the upcoming BlogHer ‘09 panel on food blogging.)

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Published by Biggie on July 17th, 2009 tagged Amorette, Laptop Lunchbox, admin, giveaway | 39 Comments »

Winner of the Laptop Lunchbox giveaway

The Laptop Lunchbox giveaway closed last night at midnight with 514 entries. Thanks to everyone for entering and sharing the ideal lunch that you’d like to pack! There were a lot of delicious-sounding meals in there.

According to the random.org drawing, the lucky winner is Robin of the My Pursuit Of blog (comment #305). Robin writes that she’d pack her four-year-old’s favorites in the LLB: mac and cheese, applesauce, hummus and carrots, and a couple of cookies. Congratulations! I’ll be e-mailing you shortly. Robin will receive the Laptop Lunchbox set including the box, insulated carrying bag, utensils, inner containers, drink container, and a copy of The Laptop Lunch User’s Guide.

If you didn’t win the Laptop Lunchbox, there are always the bento prizes I’m offering for the Menu for Hope hunger charity raffle, with proceeds going to benefit the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. Good luck!

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Published by Biggie on December 16th, 2008 tagged Laptop Lunchbox, giveaway | 3 Comments »

Giveaway: Laptop Lunchbox Set

(Dec. 16 UPDATE: The Laptop Lunchbox giveaway is now closed; see the announcement of the winners here.)

Looking for a lunch-packing gift for a friend, or just want to spoil yourself? To celebrate the holiday season, the folks over at Laptop Lunches have offered a free Laptop Lunchbox kit to one lucky Lunch in a Box reader anywhere in the world (not just U.S.).

Bonus: If you don’t win the giveaway and want to order one on your own, they’re also running a Holiday Discount for 20% off items purchased from their website through December 16, 2008 (coupon code is holiday2008). The coupon code temporarily brings their website prices below those of Laptop Lunchboxes on Reusable Bags or Amazon, so thanks for the discount! (Read on for information on how to enter the giveaway.) Read the rest of this entry »

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Published by Biggie on December 10th, 2008 tagged Laptop Lunchbox, giveaway, shopping | 516 Comments »

Site updates & SF shopping

I’ve been doing a little work on the site lately, and revamped my About page to include comment guidelines and some additional sections at the bottom. It includes a link to the new Press and Awards page that highlights some of the more notable press and web mentions of Lunch in a Box. Recent mentions include articles in Cincinnati Weekly and the Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA newspaper via Inside SoCal), and posts on Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn and Ohdeedoh. Welcome new readers! There are other mainstream media articles on bento lunches in the works for the back-to-school season; I’ll update the Press page with new articles as they appear.

Shopping: Rainbow Grocery stocks bento boxes!
I was interested to see that Rainbow Grocery co-op in San Francisco has started carrying bento boxes! Prices are actually not outrageous, which is my usual peeve about this large natural foods store. The staff didn’t even blink when I asked where their bento boxes were, and pointed me right to them.

In the housewares section in the front corner, they now stock the Leaflet Tight bento boxes (650ml and 800ml), Laptop Lunchboxes in a variety of colors, thermal drink and food jars from Laptop Lunch, 2-tier stainless ToGo Ware tiffin tins, ESMA Clip & Close containers that can be used as bento boxes (a small square, and a long 1.1-liter rectangle with removable sub-containers), and a 750ml Pyrex rectangle made of tempered glass that would work as a bento box. I’ve added the store and my feedback to the Bento Store Locator (BSL) with Google Maps, where readers can also add their own feedback and listings for bento stores around the world. Thanks to my friend Cherie for the heads-up.

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Published by Biggie on August 8th, 2008 tagged Laptop Lunchbox, SF Bay Area local, admin, bento, food jar | 18 Comments »

Laptop Lunch planner from DooF-a-Palooza

Last weekend I attended DooF-a-Palooza, a big kids’ cooking event at the Google headquarters in Mountain View put on by the organizers of DooF (food spelled backwards). DooF is an upcoming kids’ cooking show on PBS that has similarities to Spatulatta. I stopped by the Laptop Lunch booth, met president and co-founder Amy Hemmert, and picked up their very handy visual planning worksheet for lunches packed in the Laptop Lunchbox (UPDATE: download from Obentec or here). The reverse side has a list of packed lunch ideas organized by food type (fruits, vegetables, sandwich fillings, and sandwich alternatives). As the planner isn’t available on their website, the folks at Laptop Lunches sent me the PDF file and graciously agreed to let me put it up on Lunch in a Box for downloading. (UPDATE: The Laptop Lunch folks have made the worksheet available for download on their website.)

Because I’m container-agnostic and use a variety of lunch containers, I find that jotting down rough meal ideas on a magnetic whiteboard sheet on my refrigerator works well enough for me, but I definitely see the appeal of this sort of visual planner as well. If you’d like to try it out, download it, print it out, and put a copy up on your fridge to make a glanceable lunch plan that incorporates a balance of foods and dinner leftovers.

The planner is similar to Maki’s weekly bento planner on Just Bento. If you have a different type of lunch container or bento box, you could make your own version of these planners pretty easily. Do you plan out your packed lunches? What planning method works best for you? Let us know in comments! (Read on for Laptop Lunchbox photos taken at DooF-a-Palooza.)

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