The Food Section

Placemats That Pop

Each of Publique Living's ingenious PopMat placemats are embellished with a pop-up miniature scene. Doubling as place cards, the birdcage, mailbox, and tree graphics each contain a designated space to write your guest's name. $25 for a set of 10, in white sand or natural kraft, at Charles and Marie. [via Oh Joy!]

Destination Japan

Silicone chopstick rests by Shukoh Hayashi are twisted to form the shape of a helix. $30 for five.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has created Destination: Japan, a collection of more than 100 products (exclusive to the MoMA Store) created by established and emerging Japanese designers. We've sifted through them to find culinary-oriented products, from cooking gadgets to barware and tableware. Below are highlights of some of the more stylish, useful, intriguing, and amusing designs.

This earthenware apple-shaped jar has a wooden serving spoon at its core. $55.

Vegetables and fruits are rendered as cartoonish monsters and embroidered on a cotton T-shirt. $45.

This PVC "Patisserie Ring" (also available in blackberry and ice cream) is made of PVC embedded with Swarovski crystals. $45 to $65.

This ceramic grater's base is made of non-slip silicone so it won't budge as you grate away, even with one hand, at the kitchen counter. $28.

The quirky silicone pig cooking lid releases steam through the pig's snout as food cooks below. $18.

A folding bread board folds small for a round loaf or extends to slice a baguette. $75.

The Sushi Bar Card Game is a memory game containing cards with illustrations of fish commonly used for sushi. $29.95.

This bento box contains two germ-resistant silicone rubber containers. An air valve controls the air pressure inside the box to prevent food from sticking to the lid. $20.

Originally created for a Japanese ramen chain, this streamlined spork was designed to eliminate waste created by disposal chopsticks. $12.

The surface of this sake carafe (and cup set) resembles ice. A contour in the side provides a place for your thumb for ease of pouring. $55.

Chalkboard Chic

Joerg Gaetjens' Chalkboard Napkin Rings not only spiff up your table setting, they also function as reusable place cards. Write the names of your guests on the napkin rings with a slate pencil and erase with the sponge eraser (both included). While they may be pretty nifty, the price ($65) seems a little steep. After all, you could simply pick up some unfinished rings and chalkboard paint and make your own on the cheap. $65 for a set of four at MoMA.

Alter Ego

CB2's Beaker Glasses may look just like plastic cups, but they are actually made of handblown lab glass. They are so light and thin that you might even mistake them for their disposable doppelgängers. And, they're even stackable. The glasses come in two sizes: the cooler glass (10.5 oz.) is $3.95 and the juice glass (6.5 oz.) is $1.95 at CB2.

The Postmodern Martini

The seemingly endless design possibilities of thermal glassware are well-documented on this site, from a novel french press to shape shifting glasses for liqueur, beer, or wine. Here's another stunning example: Alissia Melka Teichroew's Inside Out Martini Glasses, which surround the iconic cocktail vessel with a water glass-shaped exterior. A set of two is $68 at the MoMA Store.

Bottle Art

Laser-etched, hand-inked Lux Apts Milk Bottles, festooned with charming drawings of townhouses, show off the work of designer Julia Rothman. The limited edition ceramic bottles are $65 (in gray or red) at ReForm School. [via Design*Sponge]

Eat Anywhere

The Table-less Meal Kit by Simplicitas includes nifty multi-utensils (combining a knife, fork, and spoon), mugs, and dishes that fits together to form a compact set of tableware for two. Perfect for for an an impromptu picnic just about anywhere (and probably also quite useful for for feeding a toddler on-the-go). $38 at Flight 001.

Image: Simplicitas.

Inside Out

These Inside Out Liqueur Glasses, designed by Alissia Melka Teichroew, are shaped like tumblers on the outside, with glass silhouettes within. Made of mouth-blown borosilicate glass, the glasses are also available as champagne flutes. $55 for a pair of the liqueur glasses and $65 for two champagne flutes at the MoMA Store.

Cube Control

Kathleen Hills' bone china Sugar Lump dispenser keeps all your cubes in a row. Perfect for obsessive compulsives and tic tac toe aficionados. $34 at Greener Grass Design.

Chill Out

Eva Solo's Fridge Carafe evokes the shape of a milk bottle and is designed to fit inside your refrigerator door compartment. A flip-top lid keeps unwelcome flavors out of your chilled water while stored, and a neoprene insulating jacket -- available in multiple colors -- zips up the carafe to keep its contents cool from refrigerator to table.

Ergonomic Eating

The odd-looking flatware by CurvWare is ergonomically designed to function as a natural extension of the hand (that's a fork in the photo). But, the "ErgoChic" utensils come at a hefty price. One three-piece set will set you back $99 at CurvWare. Via bookofjoe.

Proboscis Party!

Grab a drink and get a nose job. Pick Your Nose party cups come in 12 different combinations of nose, mustache, and dental work: "A must for your next party, and the perfect gift for any plastic surgeon who loves to do rhinoplasties." $18.75 for a pack of 24 cups at The Spoon Sisters.

Bamboo for Baby

Most baby utensils are made of plastic (excepting these high-styled Danish models), but bambu's cutlery for babies and kids is made of renewable, organically grown bamboo (the company also makes a starter cooking utensil set for gastronomes in training). The lightweight, dishwasher safe cutlery retails for $9.95 (baby) and $5.95 (kids) at greenfeet.

Kid Cutlery

Rosendahl's Children's Cutlery, comprised of a spoon with a looped handle and a garden hoe-esque knife/pusher, was created by the late Danish designer Kay Bojesen with the ergonomic needs of children in mind: "Round and angular handles are tiring to eat with, because they roll between the fingers and irritate the palm of your hand. The flat handle, however, rests very differently and correctly on your fingers and in the hand." $45 at The Magazine. [via Charles and Marie]

Felt + Fruit

Inspired by the design of egg crate and crafted from industrial felt, the Eggflat makes a fine tabletop resting place for your fruit. And when it's not being used, it folds flat for ease of storage. $52 at Branch. [via design sponge]

Get a Grip

The usual advice for holding a wine glass is to grasp the stem and keep your 98 degree paws far away from the wine. However, these counterintuitive Glass of Truth Tumblers are designed with indentations for your thumb and finger to encourage heat transfer so that "the warmth from your hand radiates throughout the wine, releasing aromas and unlocking subtle flavors." $38 for a pair at napastyle.com. [via daily olive]

Spoonstraw Style

Does the image of a spoonstraw evoke a Proustian taste memory of a Slurpee paired with Now and Laters? Well, wipe those memory banks clean because Bodum has transformed the humble utensil into the sleek MIZU Straw Spoon, which is stylish enough for slurping a cup of almond granita. $4.95 at Bodum.

Tricky Trivet

Space-starved New Yorkers, take note: the nifty Propeller Trivet by Danish design firm Menu collapses on its axis, so you can stow it away in a kitchen drawer. I spotted the silicone gadget at at the Milan branch of Italian housewares mini-chain D CUBE, but you can also find it stateside at the Museum of Modern Art. $18 at the MoMA Store.

Coffee for One

Why suffer through undrinkable office coffee, when you can make your own individual brew? Perfect for the workplace, the Coffee for One coffee-maker comprises a ceramic french press pot with a matching, stacking mug. One pot brews 14 ounces of coffee. $26 in red, blue, black, and aqua at wishingfish.com.

Coffee for One

Why suffer through undrinkable office coffee, when you can make your own individual brew? Perfect for the workplace, the Coffee for One coffee-maker comprises a ceramic french press pot with a matching, stacking mug. One pot brews 14 ounces of coffee. $26 in red, blue, black, and aqua at wishingfish.com.

Finger Forks

They look like they should be part of a Halloween costume, but these positively Kruegeresque Finger Forks are no joke: "No more sticky fingers! Feel like Edward Scissorhands as you stab at your party food delights. These stainless steel finger forks are ideal for buffets and parties." £3.99 a pair at drinkstuff.com. [via Oh Gizmo!]

Finger Forks

They look like they should be part of a Halloween costume, but these positively Kruegeresque Finger Forks are no joke: "No more sticky fingers! Feel like Edward Scissorhands as you stab at your party food delights. These stainless steel finger forks are ideal for buffets and parties." £3.99 a pair at drinkstuff.com. [via Oh Gizmo!]

Totally Lit

If martinis don’t get you lit enough on their own strength, consider adding some extra light. While the amusement of light-up plastic martini glasses perhaps best work their magic at say, a classic kitsch bar, they’ll also have the same effect at any festivity, regardless of location. The double helix-shape LED illuminated stem is undoubtedly mesmerizing, plus the reusable glass is at least one thing your guests can take home at the end of the night. $29.99 for set of four from After 5.

Totally Lit

If martinis don’t get you lit enough on their own strength, consider adding some extra light. While the amusement of light-up plastic martini glasses perhaps best work their magic at say, a classic kitsch bar, they’ll also have the same effect at any festivity, regardless of location. The double helix-shape LED illuminated stem is undoubtedly mesmerizing, plus the reusable glass is at least one thing your guests can take home at the end of the night. $29.99 for set of four from After 5.

Serving Summer

Summer outdoor entertaining holds many joys. Along with some minor dilemmas -- you don’t want to serve delicious seasonal meals on flimsy disposable plates, but you don’t want to risk your favorite breakables either. Jonathan Adler, the shining star of whimsical design, has come up with a solution. His Happy Home line now comes in durable acrylic and Melamine versions so you can use these relentlessly cheerful (as well as affordable) platters, pitchers, martini glasses and plates outside while staying cool and carefree. Other brands of plasticware do exist, but aren’t nearly as fun. $5 to $26 at Velocity Art and Design.

Serving Summer

Summer outdoor entertaining holds many joys. Along with some minor dilemmas -- you don’t want to serve delicious seasonal meals on flimsy disposable plates, but you don’t want to risk your favorite breakables either. Jonathan Adler, the shining star of whimsical