Recent social media posts
06/17/2025
✨ Thanks to everyone who stopped by the preview party + chef demo at yesterday!
What fun it was to bring our very first clickable prototype to life with a few of my favorite summer recipes!
* Sautéed Summer Squash
* Easy 7-Minute Tzatziki
* Light & Bright Vegan Pesto
And even more fun to share samples with 325 (!) curious souls while answering all kinds of questions like:
🌿 How I keep my pesto bright green (no sad brown dip here!)
🥒 The trick to sautéed squash that isn’t a soggy mess
⏱️ My go-to no-cook, savory summer snack
If you missed it — you can grab the free recipe PDFs .
👉 And join the waitlist to get the deets about our next market event in Cedar Park on July 12th!
PS. 💛 Shout-out to for the creamiest greek yogurt and the freshest produce — summer squash, cucumber, basil, and kale — that made these recipes sing!
12/07/2024
Holiday baking just got SO much easier! 🎄🍵
My highly-requested Matcha Cake Cookies are finally up on the blog—and you won’t believe how simple they are to make!
Recreate this best-selling cookie at home with just a box of gluten-free cake mix, matcha tea powder, and five pantry staples. 💚
Bonus: The dough is freezer-friendly, so you can enjoy fresh-baked cookies whenever you want!
Click the for the recipe and start baking!
09/29/2024
Friendlys Persian Pop-Up 🌈 A colorful (and delicious!) way to start a leisurely Sunday in ! 🙏🏻 Thank you
06/16/2024
Happy Father’s Day (and belated Mother’s Day) to Nick & Julie!
I could not have bootstrapped Bento Picnic without them.
Here they are finishing the install for the custom cabinetry that my Dad built for the bento shop in 2018.
Thank y’all for everything you did to support my dreams! 🙏🏻❤️
05/25/2024
Hellooo from the UK 🇬🇧✌️
The last three days in London have been a ball! 🪩
1️⃣ 😋 Charlie & I have eaten so well thanks to , , , , & 🙏🏻
2️⃣ 👀 We saw Ian Mckellan as Falstaff (!) and had a sighting of the King himself at Buckingham Palace 👑
3️⃣ 👣 And we’ve trekked all over the city via lovely green spaces 🌳 🦆
➡️ Now we’re in Bath & we’ll be checking out the oldest farmers market in the UK (!) tomorrow
I’ll be sure to share what goodies we find along the way! 👩🏻🌾
04/10/2024
I find my way into home kitchens wherever I go!
While I was in India, I was delighted to take a private cooking class in South India, and another in North India. I highly recommend them both!
1️⃣ with Payal in Rajasthan (North India)
2️⃣ with Jacob in Kerala (South India)
Both Payal and Jacob customized their menus based on what Charlie and I were interested in learning.
They’re both passionate about making Indian cooking accessible and they guided us on how to flow between recipes to create complete meals.
And they both taught us specialities from their respective regions and took us to their local markets.
The big difference between the classes is that Jacob provided us with printed recipes and he had all the raw ingredients cut and measured out ahead of time. Whereas Payal talked us through the steps and she involved us in the entire prep process, starting from scratch.
Both approaches were really helpful and quite complimentary. Thanks to them, we feel much more confident cooking with Indian spices than before, and we’re still cooking a lot of Indian food now that we’re back home! 🙏🏻🇮🇳
04/02/2024
Thali is like the Indian version of & has strong parallels to principles of , Japanese menu design!
Every features a variety of regional specialties & includes all six tastes, known in Ayurveda as Shadrasa: sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, astringent.
According to the Ayurvedic tradition, a meal is not complete unless it is a full-sensory experience with a balance of all 6️⃣ tastes — because each ‘rasa’ (taste) is not incidental, but rather an indication of the properties of the ingredients. ⚖️ So getting a balance of all the tastes at each meal is important for keeping our doshas in check! ✔️
➡️ Swipe right to see the that I have been enjoying as I travel thru India!
1️⃣ Homestyle thali that I learned to make in Jaipur with Payal of (North India)
2️⃣ Fancy Rajasthani thali at in Jodhpur (North India)
3️⃣ Thali served on a banana leaf a vegetarian restaurant in Thodupuzha, Kerala (South India)
4️⃣ Unbelievably inexpensive thali from .yoga.centre in Tamil Nadu (South India)
04/01/2024
Here’s my for ❤️
Dear Tamil Nadu
Modern comforts shine less bright
Now that we’ve met you
Natural beauty
Teeming with dualities
Ripe with life lessons
Lessons that sound trite
But have given way to new
tenderness in Charlie’s eyes
Like NOTHING matters
EXCEPT for experiencing
EVERYTHING fully
Since when we’re present
No matter what we’re doing
Love pours from our being
03/25/2024
I can’t get enough of all the tropical fruits in India. 😋 ➡️ Swipe right to see who stole my pineapple the other day… 🤣🍍🐒
02/25/2024
Piggy backing on my last post, I wanted to share more about .yoga.centre’s impressive dining program.
Biksha (Isha’s dining hall) serves flavorful yogic cuisine. A team of local chefs run the kitchen like clockwork and an army of volunteers help serve the food.
A typical meal includes:
🌾 Rice (my favs are lemon rice with nuts, coconut rice with herbs & sweet black rice)
🍛 Pongal (SO many kinds of millet!) always served with some kind of saucy dish (ie. curry or sambar) And sometimes chutney too!
🫘 Legumes (ie. black chickpeas, mung beans, lentils — usually tossed with with shredded coconut, turmeric and curry leaves)
🥕 A raw veggie or salad (ie. carrot, cucumber, or green pepper salad)
🍠 A cooked veggie (usually a starchy veggie or some kind gourd in a flavorful sauce)
🌶 A pickle (chili lime, tamarind, or ginger)
🍉 Fruit (ie. Baby bananas, papaya, watermelon, pineapple)
😋 Many times a savory congee, kitcheri, or sometimes sweet porridge called Sanjeevini
🫓 Occasionally, instead of millet, they serve homemade bread like roti or idly (Which I love!)
🟤 And sometimes a sweet treat like a sesame ladoo or a mini banana cake
The meals are made with high-quality vegetarian ingredients — many of them grown on site. 🧑🏽🌾 In fact, in the last 10 months the 5-acre organic farm at the ashram has supplied the dining hall with 22 tons of fresh produce! (Pictured is turmeric that I helped harvest last month.)
The dining hall is open for ashram residents twice per day, offering brunch & dinner for thousands of people at a time. 🕖 Doors for dinner open at exactly 6:50 PM and everyone is seated within 8 minutes! ➡️ Then the whole hall gets flipped for the next batch to enter at 7:35 PM. And if that’s not wild enough, we all sit on the floor in silence 🧘🏻♀️ and eat with our hands. ✋
Well, most of us… I broke down and bought a spoon after the first month of struggling to eat hot soupy food by hand. 🥄😜
Address
Austin, TX
To reach the Bento Picnic in Austin, you have a few options for transportation:
Public Transport:
1. From downtown Austin, take the MetroRail Red Line towards Kramer Station.
2. Get off at Kramer Station and walk to the nearby Kramer Lane/Domain Station.
3. Take the Capital Metro Bus Route 803 towards The Domain.
4. Get off at the stop near Esperanza Crossing and Rock Rose Avenue.
5. Walk a short distance to reach your destination.
Driving/Parking:
1. If you are driving from downtown Austin, head north on I-35.
2. Take exit 240B toward US-183 N/Lampasas/Killeen.
3. Merge onto US-183 N and continue for about 7 miles.
4. Take the exit toward Burnet Road/Braker Lane.
5. Keep right at the fork and follow signs for Burnet Road S/Burnet Road N.
6. Merge onto Research Boulevard and continue for about 0.5 miles.
7. Turn right onto Esperanza Crossing, where you will find parking options available in The Domain shopping center.
Please note that these directions are provided as a general guide, and it's always recommended to check for any road closures or public transport schedule changes before your trip.
Alerts
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Bento Picnic posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Contact The Business
Send a message to Bento Picnic:
What people say
Bento Picnic is a caterer in Austin, Texas that has been serving farm-to-table bento cuisine since 2015. Although they are currently on sabbatical as of February 2023, their dedication to providing delicious and healthy meals is still evident.
What sets Bento Picnic apart is their commitment to the Washoku tradition of Japanese homemakers. Each bento box incorporates five colors, five tastes, and five elements, resulting in nutrient-rich and truly delicious meals. The use of organic vegetables, whole grains, high-quality proteins, and housemade pickles and sauces ensures that every bite is packed with flavor and goodness.
One of the things that makes Bento Picnic stand out is their inclusivity. They offer gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free options, making it easier for people with dietary restrictions to enjoy their meals without compromising on taste or quality.
Conveniently located at 2600 E. Cesar Chavez St., Bento Picnic is open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday. In addition to their main location, they also have a kiosk inside the Austin Bouldering Project and offer catering services all around town.
To get a glimpse of their mouthwatering menu or stay updated on any future updates, visit Bento Picnic's website at www.bentopicnic.com. Whether you're looking for a quick lunch or planning an event that requires catering services, Bento Picnic is sure to impress with their seasonal Japanese bento boxes and selection of natural wine and sake.
Experience the charm of this counter-service cafe that brings together fresh ingredients and traditional Japanese flavors at Bento Picnic in Austin.
