A Berry Bowl, a Cute Pin, and More Things to Buy This Week

This post originally appeared on October 16, 2019, in Add to Cart — the weekly newsletter for people who love shopping (almost) as much as they love eating. Subscribe now.

Hi all! Coming to you on a Wednesday again, as yesterday I was offline celebrating yet another Jewish holiday, Sukkot, which is basically the tradition’s outdoorsy fall holiday. It came right on time: Everyone seems to be in full-on fall mode right now, with apple picking and upstate hiking and lots of Instagram moments in pumpkin patches.

Also: apple cider donuts, which I’d never heard of until a few years ago and now seem ubiquitous. Truth be told, there’s something nice about operating within a theme, embracing the foods and activities and moments that society dictates to be seasonally appropriate. (Hey, capitalism!) Memorial Day weekend approaching? Grab a beer and some barbecue (or an Aperol Spritz). December bearing down? Time for chocolate-and-peppermint combos, in steaming mugs or candy bar form. And we all remember tomato season…

There’s an element of conformity or maybe just laziness to always reaching for the most familiar flavors of a season (at least, the ones that are most commercially familiar at the moment). But it’s also comforting and offers some sense of solidarity. The temperature may be dipping and the lazy days of summer are a long-gone memory, but at least we have donuts to get us through.

Things to buy

• At the Line Hotel in Washington DC, where I had the pleasure of staying last week, certain cocktails in the lobby bar come in Schott Zwiesel cocktail coupes — elegant, sturdy glasses in the traditional coupe shape but a generous, thoroughly modern size.
• I love a ceramic berry bowl, a small serving bowl with holes punched in the bottom so the water from your freshly-rinsed berries can drain. Bonus: It makes a great hostess gift.
• Mochi Bear Studio contains all sorts of Asian food cuteness, including this takoyaki enamel pin.
• This guide to making bar-quality batch cocktails at home contains tons of recommendations for the essential tools. But the most fun rec is the least essential one: this perfectly vintage crystal-cut punch bowl with matching glasses.

Things to know

• Soon, Milk Bar cookies and pies will be coming to a grocery store near you.
• For all the knife nerds out there, the first episode of Eater’s new video series Handmade dives deep into how professional chef’s knives are actually made.
• Check out Chris Crowley’s delightful Q+A over on Grub Street with writer and illustrator Michele Humes, whose new book The Noodle Soup Oracle contains charming illustrations that make you want to curl up with a bowl of just that.

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