The humble ice cream cone. Since making its debut at the St Louis World’s Fair in 1904, it hasn’t changed all that much. Ampersand the Conery are looking to change that. This fledgling food startup is, in their words, “re-imaging the cone.” The vision is to create a more dynamic, ice cream cone market. One where flavours on the cone serve to enhance the ice cream and vice versa.

Pistachio, vanilla bean with toasted coconut, and honey lavender are the debutvarieties on Ampersand’s hit list. Imagine a dark chocolate ice cream atop a pistachio cone? Or, a fig ice cream tucked into a honey lavender cone? (How have we not thought of this sooner?!)

Ampersand’s cones themselves will vary in shape too from petit-sized to waffle chips, designed for sharing and dipping into a heaping scoop of ice cream. And then there’s the “take-and-bake,” a package that allows you to buy flat cones, heat them up and roll them at home. With the sunny days of summertime drawing nearer, Amerpsand is gearing up for their official launch soon. Say goodbye to the waffle cone as you know it.

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Smitten. That’s what we are for Cape Town’s Truth Coffee. Blame the stripped away industrial interior, the long hanging lights, the beautiful vintage detailing on the coffee bar, and the heavy wooden communal tables, anchored with piping. The ruby red stools, the pops of color, and the grand silver roasting machine help too. Through and through, Truth Coffee reeks of personality.

It is the kind of coffee space that calls on you to linger for hours. Of course, then there’s the coffee. Founded by local barista extraordinaire, David Donde, Truth Coffee’s specialty is in “producing artisanal style coffees for the coffee geeks out there in sunny South Africa.” Using a vintage probat roaster fitted with a cast iron drum, they roast a line of blends from a kick-in-your-teeth kind of espresso to a “forgiving” French blend that you won’t soon forget. And each of these blends is continuously tested, iteration after iteration, until the pinnacle of flavor is reached. Quality and taste drive every decision here. Put away the sugar and don’t even think of adding whipped cream. At Truth Coffee, you’re promised an addictive cup of “flavour not bitterness,” as they say. We’re sold – and smitten.

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Step into most Mexican taquerías and sophisticated is not the first word that comes to mind. Delicious? More often than not. But taquerías are indoor/ outdoor spaces where the smell of pork roasting on a spit and plastic cups of hotter-than-thou salsas count as ambience. Taquería Canalla in San Pedro, just outside Monterrey, is looking to defy that rule. At this Mexican taquería, the interior is contemporary and sleek. The work of Manifesto Futura, the minimalist design is refined and understated.

There are the requisite high stools at communal tables, but all are crafted from raw, bright wood and boast clean lines. And those salsas? They’re tucked away in uber-stylish numbered bottles with tight typography that reminds us more of premium spirits than fresh sauces.

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Reason number 88790 why being in Melbourne right now would be dreamy: The Urban Coffee Farm & Brew Bar, a lush, jungle-esque plantation popping-up in the city’s center. On March 1, Melbourne launched its annual food-frenzy, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. This year boasts everything from the infamous world’s longest lunch to master classes from iconic chefs to enough barbeque to leave even the most hardcore tailgater satisfied.

Adding to the festivities is a reinterpreted terraced coffee farm smack in the city’s center, built by design practice HASSELL.

A small jungle of 120 coffee plants sit besides shipping containers from Melbourne’s own port and timber packing crates. The pop-up hopes to give visitors a glimpse of coffee’s story from seed to cup. As its tagline reads: “Take a journey through the farm to understand the coffee story.” Daytime finds Australia’s best baristas and Melbourne’s café heavy weights taking turns at the brew bar. Take-away coffees are on offer but why not go for a tasting flight? Or a master class even, where lucky barista-wannabes can learn about everything from roasting to cupping.

The Urban Coffee Farm & Brew Bar is on from now until March 17. And if you find yourself able to stop on by in the warm summer afternoon to sip a cup of some of the country’s best brew surrounded by coffee trees – well, frankly, I am utterly jealous.

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There was the gummy bear chandelier and the gummy bear dress, which wowed us with their off-the-wall foodie WTF. Nothing, however, could prepare us for this latest gummy creation: a jelly replica of you. Now on offer in Japan, men can create spitting images of themselves in gummy form thanks to Tokyo’s FabCafe – the same café-cum-design-studio that recently gave Japanese women the opportunity to chisel their likeness into chocolate truffles on Valentine’s Day. This is, apparently, the men’s response.

To make the gummy mannequins, men will pose for 3D body scans that will then be used to create the jelly molds. A few sugary mixes later and out comes a human gummy clone in jiggly, bright yellows, blues and reds. The resulting candy brings a whole new meaning to the idea of Sour Patch Kids.

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The concept is intriguing. LeVeL33 is, after all, self-proclaimed as the “world’s highest urban craft-brewery.” The sweeping views of Singapore’s Marina Bay aren’t too shabby either. But it is the beer that we’re after. Here they freshly brew their own series of blond lager, pale ale, stout and porter.

All are housed in contemporary copper kettles that dominate the center of this penthouse restaurant-cum-craft-beer-bar. If you’re looking to pair your pint with something from the kitchen, LeVeL33 boasts a beer menu with dishes matched to their brews, like braised short ribs dusted with Moroccan spices.

Now, we’ve never been to LeVeL33 so we can’t comment on the food or the drinks, both of which have a somewhat tumultuous existence in the online review space. But with views as spectacular as this and a concept that intrigues – especially in Singapore – LeVeL33 is definitely on our to-do list (even if it doesn’t have wasabi martinis a la our favorite rooftop bar…).

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Remember that anatomically-correct heart shaped cake? Well, Lily Vanilli strikes again! In this playful short, the queen of creative baking displays her visual artistry with an animated bakewell tart recipe. Word on the street is, she’s got a new book too.

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With my husband and I separated by a literal ocean for the past two months, I immediately clicked with this Anti-Loneliness Bowl. Yeah, the name kind of stings but the idea is a brilliant one. If you can’t get to your date for some reason this week, why not send them this ramen bowl with a built-in iPhone dock, so you can Face Time over candlelight. Or is that your flashlight app?

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Wicka wicka! Bring out your inner DJ and set your (turn) table with these envy-inducing plates. Hailing from Italy, Longplate is a series of cleverly designed dishes that mimic vinyl records. Stylish illustrations are splashed across the plate’s center with sayings like Nice to Meat You and My Bloody Entrecote. Though the collection certainly eggs you on to play with your food, you’ll probably want to stay away from scratching these up all night.

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Good wine in a good house for a good cause. From the creative mind of one Dutch wine expert and a group of local savvy designers comes Wijnhuis: a new initiative to help raise funds for the homeless. Color screen-printed labels adorne the bottles, which are tucked inside a die cut “house” made of old wine boxes recycled and glued together. Better yet, all profits from the sale of these stellar red and white organic wines will go to an Amsterdam-based foundation for the homeless. The style is inspired, the cause is worthy and the wine delicious. Proost to that.

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Feeling nostalgic for Scandinavia circa 1930? Look no further than Pärlans Konfektyr: a vintage candy shop in Stockholm that hand makes its sweets within the setting of a superbly old-fashioned boutique.

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From Brooklyn to Hong Kong, Durban to Melbourne, urban gardening is on the rise. Adding a bit of green to the concrete jungle, clever urbanites-turned-green thumbs are creating hidden spaces to nurture and grow everything from vegetables to chickens to beehives. Pop Up Patch in Melbourne is one of our favorite projects to come out of this movement.

Here, an unused rooftop-parking garage was transformed into 140 do-it-yourself veggie plots with the imaginative use of some recycled apple crates, shipping containers, soil and spray paint. Smack in the centre of the city, this green space is a “subscriber based edible gardening club” that encourages locals to get their hands a little dirty this summer. Nearby restaurants are renting out plots too, growing fresh fruit and veg for their kitchens. And Rooftop Honey has installed ten beehives at Pop Up Patch that are set to provide raw and unprocessed honey by Christmas.

If your thumb is any shade but green, no worries – there’s a staff on hand to help your plants grow (and stay alive) through the summer, in addition to workshops and events. And if all else fails, there’s a taco truck stationed here every Sunday…

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From lifestyle photographer, illustrator and food creative, Todd Selby, comes this charming digital short. In the film, New York-based Chef Ignacio Mattos creates a Latin lunch for his friends and family at this home in Brooklyn. It’s a sweet snapshot of one chef’s every day life in New York. [Ignacio's Mostly Latin Lunch, A Selby Film. Presented by T, The New York Times Style Magazine]

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I have lived in and loved Mexico City. It’s a thrilling metropolis, underrated completely and with energy and imagination unlike any other. But when in Mexico, you don’t drink the water. It’s one of those ‘rules’. And that is precisely part of what makes Casa del Agua – literally house of water – so intriguing. Ironic even. The water at this Mexico City boutique is bottled, of course. Rainwater is collected through a teak patio and garden then filtered and purified on site a thousand different ways (including running over stones with the words “love,” “respect” and “gratitude”) until it reaches its “highest potential.”

In essence, this is a project in sustainability. Lovingly called “local” water, minerals and ions are restored before it is craft bottled in gorgeous glass packaging. In other words, this is local water in Mexico that you’ll want to drink. Owner Bosco Quinzanos insists that it’s the best in the country. Still, Casa del Agua is an odd concept; artisan water sold in a handsome boutique where you’d sooner see wines or designer clothing. The space is contemporary and sophisticated, with majestic glass windows, white subway tiles and organic wood detailing. Casa del Agua certainly brings new meaning to the term watering hole…

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Dessert bars. I’m convinced that they’re the understated trend to come in 2013. And one hot spot that is leading the pack is Sydney’s Jazz City Milk Bar. Decked out in checkered floors and retro signage, this inventive dessert bar comes complete with Bazooka Joe Bubble gum and banana splits. Here, you chill out and fun. But that doesn’t mean the food is pedestrian. Choose a malted milkshake in flavors like passionfruit, peanut butter, and raspberry (respectively, of course).

Peanut butter and jelly cookies sit on the menu alongside pies like buttermilk and coconut cream. Pull up a stool to the counter top for some grape, green apple or watermelon-flavored cotton candy and a handful of Tootsie Rolls. If savory is what you’re looking for, you better be hungry for a hot dog of which there are many on the menu, like the New Orleans Fried Oysters Remoulade Dog. (Still, they are also now serving an Oatmeal Mushroom Risotto with Black Truffles….). Serving standout food in a playful space, dessert bars like Jazz City Milk Bar should promptly become a 2013 trend. Please and thank you.

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Vintage hats, over-sized sunglasses and bountiful beards. No, we’re not talking about your local hipster hangout but a new series of Spanish wine. Hailing from the great vineyard-laden Rioja, Siete Pasos is a just-launched wine project that aims to bring together seven wines from different regions. Each bottle will be assigned an individual character, inspired by those in our every day lives.

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If swine makes you swoon and carnivore is your middle name, this nose-to-tail, gastro-pub is calling. At The Breslin, the interior is dark, the ceilings high, and the tables covered with butcher paper. Start your meal with the Scotch Egg – a whole egg wrapped in sausage, breaded, and fried.

Seared sweetbreads also standout and the pig’s foot for two with creamy shallots is said to be dreamy (we’ve yet to find a partner who will take it on). If you’re pining for ale to wash down that bone marrow slathered toast, you will not be disappointed by the extensive list of craft brews on offer. But if you’re still wanting for a drink or two or three to nurse you through your food coma, the Ace Hotel’s lobby bar serves up stellar cocktails amongst hipsters and big, leather couches that beckon to be lounged in – if, of course, you can snag one.

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There’s something special about purchasing a fresh baguette while it’s still warm. A subtle yeasty steam rises from the paper-wrapped bread, its just-baked crust giving slightly, hinting at a pillowy interior. If you manage to not tear into it right then and there, patience is rewarded once home. Except in the winter.

In the winter, that beautiful bread arrives cold and hard. And here is where CYAN’s baguette bag comes in. Place your just purchased bread into the bag, zip it up, and sling it over your shoulder for a commute that will leave your baguette as warm as when you bought it. So ditch the yoga mat look; this winter, it’s all about the baguette bag.

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Food trucks, despite being innately transient, are clearly here to stay. Some boast unique concepts with good food at digestible prices. Others, are overrated. And some are pushing the boundaries of creativity in the kitchen all from a moving vehicle.

Del Popolo in San Francisco is the most recent roving eatery to catch our eye. In fact, standing out is easy when you’re Del Popolo. This mobile pizzeria is housed in a twenty-foot, repurposed transatlantic shipping container with a wall of glass doors exposing its interior kitchen. What’s coming out of said shipping container are rustic, Neapolitan-inspired wood fire pizzas made with ingredients from small, generational producers. Their basic menu is rooted in three varieties: Margherita, Bianca (fresh mozzarella, grana padano, ricotta, garlic and basil), and spicy salami with kale, chilies, and mozzarella. Daily, enticing specials make appearances, like pancetta with braised escarole, pancetta and squash, or wild boar. (Hello, autumn.) Del Popolo dishes out lunch throughout San Francisco so hop on their website or their Twitter feed to track them down. And then shove some wild boar pizza served out of a shipping container in your face.

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Ever find yourself out on the town sans cocktail strainer just when you need it most? Thought so. And that’s where this new cocktail-friendly backpack and toolkit come to the rescue. From fledging company,Gin & Luck, comes their inaugural product, The Rucksack.

The work of two well-loved barman, David Kaplan and Alex Day (of New York’s Death & Co fame, among others), this heavyweight over-dyed canvas cocktail carrying bag was created for the shaker-set community. Designed to evoke military-issue smarts meets LA street style, the water resistant bag + clutch have enough space for all the tools any barmen could need plus space for two 750ml spirit bottles. That said, these versatile carry-ons do not come cheap so you best be saving those tips.

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