Lunchbox

As a dedicated lunch packer, I felt I should give some props to my little lunch bag.

This Mario Batali tote has been serving me well. My purchase of this bag resulted directly from the destruction of my former lunch vessel, one red, insulated Big Bird satchel. Big Bird served 2 years before succumbing to utter annihilation from daily subway travel. As I bid him goodbye, it also dawned on me that it is terribly unstylish for a 25-year old woman to be carrying a Big Bird lunch box to work, no matter who her employer may be. Enter Mario.

I must say, the "persimmon" color is a bit brighter than it appears onscreen (kinda screams CAUTION: LUNCH!), but I love brightly colored things, so all is well. Plus, maybe the color deters people from stealing my food in the communal fridge at work. (And apparently orange was big in Paris for Fashion Week.) The exterior does not get dirty easily, and the tag bragged that the insulated interior is made from an eco-friendly material (edit: finally found out that the material is polyethylene foam, purportedly recyclable and CFC-free).

This keeps my lunch cool (tested during a 2-hour meeting) and tremendously cuts down on paper or plastic bag waste. As an added bonus, Mario Batali donates a portion of all proceeds from the lunch bags to The Lunchbox Auction, providing assistance to the New York Food Bank and meals to schoolchildren in Africa.

I truly love the new bag, but I would say that I have yet to find my ideal lunch bag. I slightly misjudged the strap length on this little cutie, and I have determined that shoulder straps are key for juggling violin + coffee + purse, as is sometimes necessary.

If you're on the lookout for a new lunch tote, consider the Batali bags, or maybe one of these cute options:












You can find the blue bag on etsy,
The damask-print bag on etsy,
And the purple neoprene bag is by BuiltNY.