Can you believe these are lunch bags? How cute are they?! Lunch boxes sure have come a long way from the Darth Vader and Dukes of Hazzard ones we had in elementary school. Leave it to the master of Italian cooking, Mario Batali, to come up with insulated lunch bags that not only keep your panini hot (yes, he actually had panini in mind when creating them!) but are also super-chic. I’m giving away THREE of them! Read on for my review or jump ahead to find out how to win! THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
I was really curious to see just how well these cute bags actually performed at keeping food hot. I tested out the Satchel (pictured above), which is about the size of a small handbag. I can’t say my testing was entirely scientific, but I gave it my best shot. I grilled three of Mario’s Classic Panini, an absolutely delicious combination of olive tapenade, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella on ciabatta, the recipe for which comes as part of the bag’s packaging. I ate half of Sandwich #1 fresh off the grill – a) I was really hungry, and b) I wanted to sample the “best case” – and left the other half on the plate. I packaged Sandwich #2 in some aluminum foil and let it sit on the counter. And, lastly, I wrapped Sandwich #3 in aluminum foil and stored it in the Satchel. Then I waited for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, Sandwich #1 (left out in the open) was room temperature, as one might expect, and the cheese was rather chewy. Not great. Sandwich #2 (packed in foil only) was a bit warmer, a little soggy but generally tasted all right. Sandwich #3 (packed in foil and stored in the Satchel) was as hot as when I’d put it in the bag! I couldn’t believe it. I honestly hadn’t expected there to be any notable difference from wrapping in foil alone. The only issue was somewhat gummy bread, an unavoidable casualty of steam being trapped inside the foil. But overall, the Satchel turned out to be an excellent way to keep hot panini hot. Bravo, Chef Batali!
Win a Mario Batali Lunch Bag of Your Own!
To enter, leave a comment on this post about your favorite lunch box from childhood. Mine? Well, I loathed it at the time but in retrospect I feel proud to have carried the old Tupperware Pak n Carry lunch 
box in red. THREE winners will be selected at random to receive their choice of one of the following three super-stylish Mario Batali lunch bags: the Satchel, the Messenger or the Collapsible Tote. Great holiday gift! The entire line is now available at eBags (10% of the sale of each bag benefits The Lunchbox Fund and Food Bank For New York City). Apologies to my international readers – we can only ship the prizes to the U.S. Contest closes Wednesday, November 12 at 12 PM PST. THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
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I had a metal lunch box but I can’t seem to remember if it was my little pony or care bears.
I had a Barbie lunchbox (actually still have it in storage) that I carried when I was a little girl. Once I got a bit older though, I thought it wasn’t cool to have a lunch box…and actually requested paper bags! lol
Your favorite lunch box from childhood looks like a bento box. You were just trendy before your time! My favorite lunch box was when I was allowed to use my grandfather’s hand me down lunch box. It had gone through 3 generations before I was able to use it.
Hello!
My favorit lunch box was the one with three large Onigiri (rice balls) which my Mom made for me!! And box itself had ‘Hello Kitty’ on it 🙂
(Hope to win the lunch box!!)
Ohhh! I don’t have a lunch bag. I just throw everything into my gigantic commuter purse/bag. Pick me! Save my paperback books from frozen dinner melt water.
Oooohhhhh this sounds marvelous! I would love to get one for my hubby! He travels all day and if he wants a hot lunch, he has to go thru a drive-thru! Not healthy!! Thanks Kathy!
I have been a big fan of your website for awhile- congratulations on such a great blog and ongoing fabulous recipes and photos!
These lunch bags are fab.. I would love the chance to win one. When I was a kid, I had a complete Star Wars lunch tin complete with matching plastic mug, bowl and plate. I was a massive fan (given my name)… even had hair that I could braid into the coils. So, needless to say, I walked very proudly to and from school. My mother actually recently found the bowl. So, I have been coveting it in my kitchen… not sure exactly what to do with it now, but it’s a great nostalgia piece. Cheers!
Great bags! I loved the Charlie Angel’s lunch boxes. Very cool back then:) I am doing a cook book giveaway on my blog.
I had a metal lunch box with Anne on it. Weird I know but I just loved that movie as a kid. They lunch bags look great.
So cute! My fave lunchbox was a Brady Bunch lunchbox I had in 2nd grade- metal and all!
I had a Barbie and Rockers lunchbox that was hot pink that I really liked.
I had a yellow Cabbage Patch Kids lunchbox that never latched right and would fly open at times. I loved it so much I still used it even if my lunch would spill from time to time.
I was so jealous of the girls with Partridge Family lunchboxes! My mom packed my lunch in a paper bag. I finally got a lunchbox from my grandmother in 5th grade- by then, lunchboxes were NOT cool- paper bags were.
I’m always one step ahead, or one step behind!
I would LOVE one of these lunchboxes, since I’m now taking my lunch to work after becoming a vegetarian.
Pick me, Monty!
I’m showing my age, but my favorite lunchbox was my Howdy Doody lunchbox.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!
I had a Haooy Days lunchbox. That mesanger lunchbag in pesto stripes is awesome. Mario Batali does it again. Thanks!
My lunchbox that had Peanuts comic strips all over it…hands down…and the matching thermos. And it was made out of metal, not plastic.
I am a big fan of your blog…always something fun and interesting!!
my favorite lunchbox was the old metal ones with a plastic thermos inside held in place by a hinged wire. It was always fun to open up the eddibles and lay it all out before gobbling it all up!
My favorite was the ole brown bag. Why? My Daddy decorated it every day!!
My childhood lunchbox was a Strawberry Shortcake one.
i had a red checkered metal lunch box with a red thermos inside. pretty cool!
I had a very non-descript zip up soft sided bag. It rocked because mom always packed an awesome lunch AND a cute note on my napkin. 🙂
This is a great give away! I’ve been sending hubbies lunch in a paper bag and we’ve just started looking for him a bag instead. Even if I don’t win thanks for letting us know about these.
My all time favortie lunch box as a kid was a metal strawberry shortcake with the cute matching thermis.
I always loved the metal lunch boxes with the Thermos inside. I had one with some Character on the front but don’t remember who it was.
My favorite was a metal Incrediable Hulk lunchbox.
Omigosh. You and I had the same lunch box! I carried that red Tupperware thing around with me from kindergarten all the way through 8th grade. 🙂
Love the lunch bags! I’m sorry to say though that the only lunch bags I ever had as a kid were brown paper sacks.
Good old-fashioned strawberry shortcake lunchbok! The envy of all the girls at school 😉
I had the metal lone ranger with his horse silver rising up on his hind legs and tonto following behind in those moccasins.Can you imagine how those moccasins must have felt in that hot desert sand with cactus and rocks?ouch.Wish I had it now probally sells for $500
What a great product!
My all time favorite lunchbox was The Partridge Family. I proudly displayed my schoolgirl crush on David Cassidy until lunchboxes weren’t ‘cool’ anymore, and then (sadly) changed to plain paper bags…
I had a red and blue metal snoopy lunchbox with a matching thermos. I loved it so much! Sometimes I look for it on eBay just because seeing it makes me smile and remember happy times growing up.
The Little Mermaid. Classic plastic with the matching thermos. I miss it still.
These bags sound awesome!
When I was a kid, it was a Strawberry Shortcake, complete with a thermos, perfect for Zoodles. (Apparently I wasn’t the only one…)
It must have been my favourite since I only ever remember having one lunchbox. I eventually gave it up for paper or going out – as it was much cooler.
Thankfully reusable bags are back in Vogue again. …And about time with these as my red nylon/velcro bag that keeps food room temp is getting a bit frayed.
My favorite pail was my metal Partridge Family one. I loved it.
I loved my metal Peanuts lunchbox.
Wow! What a great find. My favorite lunch box had no cool technology…just a cute picture of Strawberry Shortcake and a thermos inside!
super mario brothers!
I had a metal Hair Bear Bunch lunchbox. But I think it must have come from a yard sale, because looking back, it seems like it was before my time, cartoon-wise. But I thought it was so cool anyway!
Oooohhh! I need one of those bags.
I had the red tupperware lunchbox too! In fact, I think it is currently in the freezer with frozen spaghetti sauce in it. It’s the only tupperware that doesn’t become dyed red from the sauce. Lost the plastic handle piece though.
Other lunchboxes were the good old paperbag and a Peanuts lunch box too. I also remember my brother having a Dukes of Hazzard Lunchbox though….
I had no idea Mario Batali was in the accessory business!
My favorite was a red and blue Spiderman lunchbox 🙂
OoO. Good question. I was obsessed with lunchboxes. I think my favorite was my hot pink My Little Pony one. I used that for a few too many years. Although, it was a close one with my light blue Care Bears one =]
i had a care bears box that i held on to for waaaaay too long. frankly, if i still had it, i’d probably use it for work even now. 🙂
I don’t remember having a lunch box. I always used a paper bag and I remember being embarrassed that I’d have to reuse it and all the plastic baggies over and over. LOL! I guess my mom was eco-friendly before it was the cool thing to do! LOL!
I had the coolest “Happy Days” metal lunchbox when I was a kid. It had cool pictures of the Fonz all over it. Too cool.
I had a two lunch boxes one was the Partdridge Family(yeah!Keith!) and the other was Snoopy and Charlie Brown!!! I am dating myself!!! Just like Patricia my brother also carried a Dukes of Hazzard! Some of you may remember when you dropped your thermos the inside would break!
OMG! I had that same Tupperware lunchbox as a kid! Mom was in the TW club in the 80’s. Hilarious! I haven’t seen or thought about that thing in years! I do have to mention that I actually still carry the lunchbox I used in Junior High/High School-10+ years later. Just a plain rectangular insulated bag-solid navy and green. Very boring-don’t know how I ended up w/ it-must have thought it was cool or something. Now it’s just free and I use it almost daily. My name is still written on the inside in red marker.
Definitely my New Kids on the Block lunchbox!!!! And I still have it! 🙂
My first lunch box (first grade!) was Holly Hobbie, and then after a couple of years I retired that one in favor of “Annie”. But then I got too cool and switched to brown paper.
The My Little Pony lunchbox was definitely my fave. I think I went through two of them in my elementary school years.
My favourite lunchbox wasn’t my usual one, but the one we used when only in India, visiting family. Those were tiffin carriers. I adored them for their shape, their size and their way of locking together … but most of all, I loved opening up the stack of gleaming stainless boxes to see what treasures had been packed inside!
My favorite lunch box was this yellow metal sesame street lunch box that rusted out in way too short a time….darn FL humidity!
These lunch bags look and sound great. I had metal lunchboxes , but I can’t remember the pictures on the outside. I do remember the thermoses.
My favorite lunchbox was a My Little Ponies lunchbox. 🙂
My favorite lunch bag was a fresh crisp brown bag.
I only had one lunchbox as kid. A big yellow one with ants painted all over it. Looking back now, that thing was fun!
I still miss my bright blue plastic lunch box with astronauts on the outside and on the thermos.
i adored my My Little Pony lunch box, it was the best…especially when mom put in a cute note for me 🙂
I had a cute, plastic “Little Twin Stars” (Sanrio’s little twins Kiki & Lala) lunchbox when I was 5.
I remember I didn’t love having lunch at school, and only my lunchbox and my coordinate dishes and cup made me smile!
I loved my 3 Stooges lunch pail. It had a picture of Larry, Mo, and Curly, not Shemp. It always smelled like banannas but I loved the metal lunch box with the matching thermos.
I had a metal Snoopy lunchbox that I was crazy about as a kid!!
I would have to say strawberry shortcake!
Hmm. My favourite lunchbox is actually one I got during high school. It was a metal box that said, “I’m a Pepper” on it, in reference to Dr. Pepper. And the sides had an array of white stars on the Dr. Pepper red. It was amazing. I liked to keep a can of fruit, a granola bar, a spoon, and whatever extra I happened to grab from the pantry in it. :]
I had a hand-painted lunch box, big and metal and clunky, which was given to me by a close family friend long before I was even old enough to be going to school.
My favorite childhood lunch was an extra packed by my best friend. My mother died when i was very young so my best friends mother was kind enough to pack me one. It contained a Capri Sun, a small package of pringles chips, a smoked turkey sandwich on kings Hawaiian sweet rolls with a pickle, and some candy treats.
I had a metal My Little pony lunchbox, I used to love that thing. But as I grew up I also has the same red Tupperware Pack and Carry container that you listed above. In fact my mother still has the thing in her cabinet.
David Cassidy all the way baby 🙂
I love lunchboxes! I collect the metal cartoon ones – most of which I originally had in childhood but destroyed. My favorite today is a Fat Albert & the Cosby kids on display in my restaurant, but my favorite when I was a kid was a Smurfs one.
It was all about my Flintstones soft vinyl lunch box with matching thermos.
I also had a tupperware one, but my favorite was a McDonalds version (I think it was also tupperware). I loved carrying that one to school – with the golden arches handle… Now that I’m thinking about it, I might have to see if I can find one out there for my kiddos.
my favorite lunchbox was a small metal box with picture of a boy and a girl playing.
I wanted a cool lunch box when I was little – we were poor – and got free lunch at school. Now my four year old has about five and he doesn’t even take his lunch – his favorite is WALL-E.
Charlie’s Angels. Metal. Awesome. I wish I still had it.
I’m not gonna lie; I didn’t have a lunch box as a kid. My parents were non-native Americans and as such my rare packed lunch came in a glamorous plastic bag, usually filled with a foil-wrapped sandwich. This is why my possible future children will receive molded eggs in their bento lunches. However, I can’t deny that my French father knew how to keep a simple meal delicious–I was packing brie or prosciutto sandwiches in the sixth grade.
I remember having a plastic ninja turtles lunchbox that I loved, but the one I always wanted was a metal lunchbox, but apparently they didn’t sell them where I live.
I used to carry a Holly Hobbie lunch pail with a matching thermos inside that would leak all over my lunch and make it soggy. So sad.
I had a blue denium metal lunchbox with red flowers on it and I loved it …….
Mine have to be similiar Stainless Steel Lunch Box here
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41TWJCjmWnL._SS400_.jpg that I remember when I was still in Vietnam, I still feel the nostalgic every time I seen something similar 🙂
My favorite was a Sky King lunch box.It was metal and way before your time.I really love your blog and I reccomend it to all…
I had a Stawberry Shortcake lunchbox, and my mom put Strawberry milk in it Every. Day. Although I always though that the kids that got to BUY their lunch were so cool….
Teenage mutant ninja turtles without a doubt.
I too had a barbie lunch box as a kid. These days I use my recycled grocery bag to take lunches to work.
Favorite lunchbox as a kid: Josie and the Pussycats metal lunchbox. It had an insulated thermos for soup.
Hubby carries a small igloo for his frozen/microwavable lunches, and I used to use small inusulated newborn milk bags. I used to work at a hospital, and if a new mom needed extra formula, the nursery nurses raided the sample packs, and passed out the insulated bags.
I found your blog from TipNut, and I’ve been drooling 8^)
Aww…..
I can’t seem to remember which ones I had. My guess would be a Holly Hobbitt one. As I got older, I remember the Tupperware ones that had the little snack cups and lids in them.
I too remember thinking the brown bags were cool because all the big kids had them.
My favorite was my Little House on the Prairie lunch box in 3rd grade!
Can I just say that the striped bag is tres glam? What a cute accessory when wearing your favorite jeans. And you can carry a hot sandwich in it, to boot! Can’t do that in your Prada bag, that’s for sure.
wasn’t it every little girl’s dream to have a barbie lunch box???? i wanted one so bad that i actually got it as a birthday gift! (i am an august baby so bday gifts usually consisted of some must-haves for the new school year LOL). i absolutely loved my barbie lunch box and used it for 3 years straight!!!!! 🙂
ps – these new “keep-it-hot” lunch totes are too cool! a panini sandwich kicks a regular sandwich’s butt 🙂
My favorite childhood lunch box was a yellow, plastic, Peanuts (Charlie Brown & Snoopy) monstrosity from the 1970’s. I loved that thing. In fact, I’m still a big fan of Charlie Brown & Snoopy today.
I had a Partridge Family metal lunch box in kindergarten. Right now I carry a Harrod’s bag my mother-in-law brought back from London for me. It’s a tie as to which one I love more!
I’m sure I had many, but the only one I can think of is a soft-sided velcro one. It was teal. It looked like a brown paper bag, but it was made out of a flexible plastic material. Not very exciting.
These, on the other hand, are pretty sweet!
Thanks!
I had a pink plastic lunch box with the rounded top with my name & flowers on it all done in puffy paint. 🙂 It was the same shape as the metal ones you see construction workers with. I loved it and still wish I had one now. Thanks for the awesome contest!
i had a hello kitty lunch box with a thermos, it is lost now, man i wish i still had that thing.
My favorite lunch box growing up was a pink plastic My Little Pony box with a matching thermos. One day, when I was a bit older and hadn’t used it in a while, I looked in the cabinet for it and it was gone. I asked my mom where it was and she said she had thrown it away. I was devastated, even though at that point I didn’t really use it anymore. Later in life, I heard a song with the lines “whatever happened to my lunch box/when came the day when it got thrown away/don’t you think I should have had some say in that decision” It pretty much summed up my childhood lunch box experience.
I didn’t have a lunch box 🙁
I had to eat in my school’s cafeteria, which served vile concoctions like tuna noodle casserole with peas. Ick, ick, ick!
A white vinyl lunchbox with Donny and Marie Osmond on it. Wearing purple outfits, of course.
I definitely adored my Wizard of Oz lunch box, complete with a matching thermos. I think I still have the thermos, actually…I should try to revive it.
Anyways, love the bags!!
My favorite lunchbox growing up was pink and had strawberry shortcake on it! Now I have a boring cream and green colored one….I could really use one of these! 🙂
I lived too close to school to stay for lunch (until the new building was finished). After that, it was brown bags, by then I was in the 5th grade, so it was “uncool” to carry a lunch box.
I’m still brown bagging it, but w/ a blue canvas sack. Thanks for the review of the bags, they sound wonderful!
Ha! This is great! I had a Magic School Bus lunchbox with matching thermos. Oh man did I wear that baby out. If I remember right there was a lizard named ‘Lizzie’ on the show and she was my favorite…
Ooh this looks great! My favorite lunchbox was a seafoam green Little Mermaid plastic lunchbox with matching thermos … I loved both of them!
Lunchbox… oh my favorite was my Holly Hobby. After the brown bag phase, I had a small plastic bag which I used for. ever. until it finally disintegrated. Then following a trip to London I bought a Harrod’s bag which I stuffed daily with various sizes of colorful Tupperware containers. Everyone laughed at how many containers I would pull out of my small lunch bag… like a clown car for lunches! 🙂 But I always had the last laugh as my lunches were by far the healthiest and most fun! 🙂
I had a red plaid lunch box and HATED it. I thought it looked just like a “boys” lunch box. And it probably was.
I had the Tupperware one, too! Can’t exactly remember a favorite, but I always loved the smell of a new lunch box.
I had a a metal barbie lunchbox … I loved barbie so I adored my lunchbox too!
What a great idea. This would be a big help with my lunch…
The good old Thundercats metal tin lunchbox. Yes I was a thundercat fan.
My all-time favorite lunchbox was an aluminum Dukes of Hazzard lunchbox that came with a thermos. I absolutely loved it – I was a tad obsessed with the show when I was a kid because I thought the Duke boys were “sooooooooo cute!”
I had a lot of different lunch boxes as a kid. I can’t remember a specific one but they were usually colorful!
I had one lunch box that I remember very well. It was a metal one that snapped shut, and had a picture of Madeline on it (from the cartoon). Unfortunately, I tripped and my head hit the lunch box. From then on, I was stuck with the soft lunch-bags. I think I might still have that lunch box around here, somewhere…..
Hahaha! I have a “pirates of the carribean” lunchbox!