There’s something stylish about a homemade lunch: It’s healthy, it makes good use of groceries and reduces the dining-out budget (not to mention the number of takeout cartons). But carrying lunch in vintage Tupperware or a ratty shopping bag isn’t exactly aesthetically pleasing. Remember how much fun it was to carry your Dukes of Hazzard lunch box to school? These grownup food carriers make brown-bagging a tasty prospect all over again.
• Make every day a picnic. Ten Thousand Villages (10 College St., Asheville, 254-8374) offers a two-layer lidded basket, made of smoked rattan from Vietnam. $48.
• The kid-friendly (but good for adults, too) Crocodile Creek insulated lunch box comes in a variety of plant and animal motifs. It’s 100-percent PVC-free. Find it at Enviro Depot (58 College St., Asheville, 252-9007). $15.99.
• Similar to the stacked tiffin boxes used throughout India, To-Go Ware’s sleek stainless-steel food carrier has two tiers and can be heated on the stovetop. Nest Organics (51 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville, 258-1901) sells the lunch boxes ($21.95) along with bamboo utensil sets and cotton sling bags to hold everything ($61.95 for the set). The shop also stocks bamboo picnic items.
• Retro-inspired designs abound at Mast General Store (15 Biltmore Ave. Asheville, 232-1883). The Tin Box Company makes upright metal lunch boxes like this Holly Hobby version. $4.99.
Try this on
It’s witchcraft … make that Which?Craft, a creative independent craft fair cosponsored by Harvest Records (415 Haywood Road, West Asheville) and local craft entity Mystery Hand. The Saturday, May 17, event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will be held rain or shine, indoors and outside the Harvest Records store. Harvest also plans to open its bargain basement with thousands of CDs and records for $1 or less, and The Admiral will crank up the grill. Info: 258-2999 or whichcraftasheville@gmail.com.
