Loud Dining

It's one thing to head out for a sweet meal but don't you also want a kickass atmosphere to go along with it?  Check it.  This is Chico's.  A vibrant little joint across the pond in Espoo, Finland.  A vast collection of interior elements ranging in style from modern to salvage.

Fresh design with funky painted murals, black and white prints and custom crafted light fixtures.

You can also check this over at Fred Flare.

via Contemporist

Pizza & Beer

The pizza truck.  This kicks ass.  A genius idea that brings old world style cooking and sleek design to the street.  The wood burning set up is impressive in any kitchen but throwing the whole operation on the back of a truck just takes it to a whole new level.  They've basically dropped a shipping container on this bad boy, installed the 5000lb. oven and finished it off with custom crafted metal/glass folding doors clad on the interior in salvaged wood.  A rustic vibe tying it all together.

 

And for some more mobile fun, the beer trailer or Hop Box.  Craft on draft.  A converted horse trailer that now houses 6 handcrafted beers.

You can also check this post over at Fred Flare.

via Yatzer and Remodelista

Simple and Fresh

Any time I see something that reminds me of my sweet wife I just have to roll with it. This little nugget was no exception. It's the Slowpoke Espresso Cafe in Fitzroy, Australia. A sweet blend of my love for the simplicity of design with reclaimed wood and her love of simple, fresh food.

Recycled scraps that have found a new home. It's a collaboration of patterns, colors and textures from various local woodworking shops. They all tell a story in their own way and all come together in this puzzle-like fashion.

photos via Inhabitat and Slowpoke Espresso

Food Shop Design

A little food on my mind to kick off the week. As I've mentioned in the past, the wife is a crazy good, badass cook and super passionate about food in every way so from time to time I'll find myself looking for design inspiration via the food industry. This is an organic chain of stores/cafes from the UK called Daylesford Organics. They too are passionate not only about the food they produce but also they way they put it out there. A nice rustic vibe to the exterior of their store front with the mix of cobble and field stone.

The clean, light and straightforward design is carried on through the interior of their shops.

photos via Contemporist

Warehouse Pizza

This hip little pizza joint, Pizza East is located in London's Tea Building. The Tea Building itself is considered part club, part eatery, part gallery. It's a fresh new take on this refurbished warehouse and the perfect setting for this type of place.

An open plan incorporating and embracing its industrial roots. The place is dressed in concrete, exposed beams and duct work and original wood flooring.

It's not all pizza either. This is a small bar with meats and cheeses. The table top is reclaimed oak on poured concrete pillar bases.

via ArchDaily

Community Collaboration

A sweet example of community collaboration in the design and overall feel of this hip little San Francisco tavern. It's Bar Agricole. The architect, Aidlin Darling Design, worked closely with local artists and craftsmen to bring this place together.

Design inspiration was drawn upon by some of the establishments sustainable agricultural characteristics. They have a small garden housing citrus fruit trees and herbs.

A fresh and hip mix of reclaimed white oak (salvaged from old whiskey barrels), steel and board formed concrete.

These booths are genius. They're a custom mold fabricated in concrete. Once again, displaying more local love.

photos via Remodelista

David Whitney House

A very cool gift from my sweet mom about Detroit architecture over the holidays. The book is filled with a ton of amazing buildings and great stories behind them. This is the David Whitney house. He basically was the lumber industry in Michigan back in his day and in 1894 he built this three-story, 21,000 square foot monster on the corner of Woodward Ave and Canfield. It is so sweet and so well done both inside and out. The detail is phenomenal.

The exterior is clad in a pink-hued granite called jasper which Whitney brought in from South Dakota.

It is now home to one of Detroit's finest restaurants, The Whitney.

images via The Detroit News and Flickr

Beet Squad

Today it's all about the wife and her crew, The Beet Squad. They are involved in a competition to Reinvent Fast Food on www.yoxi.tv

Yoxi is an online competition where teams of 3 use videos they create to compete and come up with creative solutions to social issues. Reinventing Fast Food is the social issue they are competing for and they have come up with a pretty kick ass idea called FoodSurge.

FoodSurge is an online daily deal site that links proprietors, producers and passionate people who all want to eat real food. By creating a web of support, they are able to keep costs down, create a risk free experience for restaurants and producers, and also give the public the options they want.

The Beet Squad is one of the top two finalists and the last round of voting started yesterday and ends tonight at midnight PST. You can go to yoxi and vote here for The Beet Squad. Just make sure you are signed in before voting.

To learn more about The Beet Squad and see the rest of their videos, check out their page here or go to www.thebeetsquad.com

Italian Restaurant Remodel

This is the Santa Marta Restaurant in Mazze, Italy. It's a historic chapel dating back to the 18th century that they restored and converted into this restaurant and bar. I like the contemporary, edgy feel to the space. The brickwork and the vaulting of the original ceilings, however, are what make the space. So crazy, yet so normal for that location and time period. I'm sure the food is amazing too. Italian food. Italian architecture. So good.

photos via Arch Daily

Corktown

This is Slows. It's this sweet BBQ place in Corktown, just outside of downtown Detroit. I read this article yesterday in the New York Times and immediately was inspired. If you're not from the area, you should still check out the article.

This is the Michigan Central Station. It's also in Corktown, almost right across the street from Slows. I posted about abandoned buildings in Detroit and I probably will again sometime soon. It's not because it's an easy target. It's just because I believe in this city.

photos via Metromode (Peter Schottenfels) and Big American Night

Architecture Read

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, my wife loves to cook (she's phenomenal by the way) and I obviously love architecture. She's a huge fan of author Michael Pollan, most well known for his writings on food, specifically The Omnivore's Dilemma, and the sweet thing picked this book up for me. It's his take on the history of the craft of building and how it connects to our minds, bodies and the natural world. We are going away this weekend and I'm taking this along. I'll let you know how it is. Have a great holiday everyone.

Food and Architecture

Food and architecture yet again. My wife is an amazing cook and can craft just about anything from homemade mac and cheese to hand rolled grape leaves. I on the other hand, am fascinated by building and architecture and while doing some research on both topics I came across this place.

A 19th century carriage house turned into a cafe with offices on the second floor.

A ton of volume with natural light inside and the utilization of the existing materials makes this one of my favorite structures.

Photos via Dwell and Remodelista