Local shops offer gifts for foodies
At this point in the holiday season you are either in good shape with your to do list and looking to celebrate or may be starting to panic a bit.
The good news is it’s easier to buy than ever with local and national businesses getting even more savvy about the holiday shopping season.
When it comes to the foodie in your life there are so many great options. Here is a list to get you well on your way to where you need to be. If you’re anything like me you’ll find a little something for yourself while you are putting together a shopping game plan. It’s too tasty not to!
Head to a one stop shop
When it comes to shopping locally for foodie gifts made easy there’s one place to turn — Dorothy Lane Market (dorothylane.com). This grocer is like our own Harry &
David gourmet food company ready to make your shopping simple and someone else’s dreams come true.
DLM has curated Ohio gift boxes and baskets made to invoke nostalgia that range from $50 to more than $150 and can be ordered and shipped directly. The gourmet grocery store has a massive variety of gifts packaged and ready to ship around the country to family, friends and colleagues.
A visit to dorothylane.com or one of their stores reveals a bevy of options to choose from with varying themes and pricing. One of the store’s best sellers is the Ohio Artisan Box that curates a selection of products from Ohio food crafters including: Urban Stead Cheese Co. Street Cheddar, Maverick Chocolate Co. dark milk chocolate, North Country Charcuterie salami, DLM Buckeyes, DLM jumbo premium mixed nuts, Prospect Jam Co. Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Jam and Original Killer Brownie bars.
Also of note — through
Dec. 19 DLM has their home and gift holiday sale featuring 20% off all home and gift merchandise. They have an awesome oven safe Ohio plate for $49 that’s perfect for the Ohio loving cook in your life that’s worth seeking out.
Another great gifting option is a gift certificate to DLM’s Culinary Center classes which will be announced this month for the first quarter of 2024 .
Shop your restaurants
Old Scratch Pizza (oldscratchpizza.com) has finally bottled its famous house-made Calabrian Chili Hot Honey for retail sale. The honey, which is featured on their “Angry Beekeeper” pizza (also their most popular pizza) pairs their hot honey with Italian Sopresata salami and fresh basil. “We were shocked by how popular the pizza was, and how many requests we got to bottle the honey,” said Eric Soller, founder of Old Scratch Pizza. “It took a while to get the packaging right, but now that it is available we are selling more than expected.” The honey is a signature blend of clover honey, steeped with Italian Calabrian chilis that gives it just the right amount of sweet heat. The honey is available in 12 ounce bottles for $12 at all Old Scratch Pizza locations. Or think bigger with somethin like the Pine Club (thepineclub. com) Pick your own Pine Club variety pack for $59 on the restaurant’s website. Choose from house salad dressing, stewed tomatoes, and steakhouse sauce, all in the comfort of your home. You can also order dry-aged steaks and lobster boxes directly from their website if you want to make it a completely Pine Club holiday.
Grab a coffee Winans Chocolates & Coffees
(winanschocolatesandcoffees.com) offer a solid dozen local locations Piqua based Winans Chocolates & Coffees has plenty to offer for the holidays. They have great gift sets ready to go that incorporate their specialty brand of chocolates and coffee. Their Watershed Bourbon Cherry Cordials are made with Traverse City cherries soaked in bourbon from Ohio’s No. 1 bourbon
made in Columbus. A 1/2 lb. box is $19.95 and is sure to impress. They are delicious and a favorite. Boston Stoker Highlander Grogg Coffee Beans (bostonstoker.com) or any Boston Stoker bag is also something worthy of including in a stocking or gift basket.
Go with something sweet
Esther Price has holiday gift baskets large and small packed with chocolates, almond butter toffee, cashews and much more (estherprice.com). It’s a great way to gift from the comfort of your couch if you aren’t feeling the temperature outside. Or, you can visit one of their three local locations and soak up the seasonal
decor and magic that a chocolate shop at Christmas offers. Another sweet treat worth exploring is Heather’s Gourmet Caramel Apples in Springboro (heatherscaramelapples.com). If you haven’t had one of Heather’s apples yet, now is the time. The basic starts at $10 with most apples ringing in at $12. Made with Honeycrisp apples and covered in rich caramel and many with Ghirardelli chocolate, it’s a crunch sweet treat that will be a hit for all age groups — children to adult. They also offer an apple tray for parties that’s available for pick-up for $54.
Get saucy
Mutt’s Sauce (muttssauce.com) is a local company owned by U.S. Air Force veteran Charlynda
Scales who decided to bottle her grandfather Charlie “Mutt” Ferrell’s sauce he created to use at every meal. The combo three pack of the flavors is $29. Pair it with Frisch’s Tartar Sauce (www.frischs.com) and Springfield’s Woeber’s Mister Mustard Hot and Sandwich Pal (www. woebermustard.com) and you’ve got yourself your own local sauce gift basket.
Pick a food theme
For example, take a trip to the flavors of Italy by visiting Grist Provisions (www.eatgrist.com) and getting sauce and homemade pasta or a gift card. Or get some bottles of Mamma DiSalvo’s Authentic Italian Sauce, mammadisalvo.com. Include some bread from
Good Hands Bread Co. (www.goodhandsbreadco. com) and specialty and flavor-infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars from
Olive Tree at 2nd Street Market, 600 E 2nd St, Dayton. Pick a theme and go with local businesses and purveyors that can help create a special holiday food gift that’s off the
beaten path.
Bottle it up
Head to a local brewery like Eudora, Toxic, Branch and Bone, Warped Wing or Yellow Springs to pick up something fresh for the beer drinker in your life. For liquids packing a bigger punch consider buying a bottle or two from Belle of Dayton or Buckeye Vodka. This year Warped Wing and Esther Price teamed up for a Coconut Cream Milk Stout which is a perfect gift to help warm you up for the holidays.
Grab a gift card
A gift card is easy to mail and is sure to be appreciated not only by the person on the receiving end, but also by the restaurant and the staff that it will benefit. Or grab a deck of Dayton Foodie Cards. Using Foodie Cards saves you $10 off your order at 56 Dayton area restaurants, which is a savings of more than $500. The Foodie Card lineup for 2024 is out. It makes a great stocking stuffer or host/hostess gift.
Visit https://foodiecards. com/dayton-restaurants to learn more.
Give an experience People want experiences, so look for one.
Dayton Charcuterie Gal (www.facebook.com/ dytcharcuteriegal) for example is selling tickets for her first charcuterie workshop of 2024 that will take place on Jan. 13 at New Ales Brewing in Middletown. The workshop includes a charcuterie cup for snacking and everything needed for participants to make and take home their own charcuterie board! One person per ticket. Charcuterie (pronounced “shahr-kutuh-ree”) is a word that originated in France referring to a pork-butcher shop. It really is a term about meat, but in the states it has been used to reference a display of meats, cheese, crackers, toast, fruit and sauces. Making your own charcuterie board is enormously satisfying and fun.
Shop small towns and markets
Head to a small town like Tipp City and pick up some premium organic loose leaf teas, coffee beans, essential oil and tea accessories from The Golden Leaf Tea and Herb Company (www. thegoldenleafonline.com). While you are there head to the Trophy Nut Factory Store for nuts, candies and gift boxes. There’s also Bodega Wine and Specialty Foods and Buckeye Distillery. Small town shopping is always a great way to find locally produced food items and gift ideas that are off the beaten path. Another great option is heading to the popular 2nd Street Market in Dayton and shopping the vendors there.
If you have waited until the last minute and are in a bit of a panic know that there’s still time to hit a home run for the foodie in your life. Wishing you season’s greetings and season’s eatings as you navigate this final push to the holidays!
DAYTON EATS runs Sundays in the Life & Arts section of the Dayton Daily News and features the latest on menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes, and food adventures. Contact Contributing Writer Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@ hotmail.com.