It’s that season once more. You realize the one — the season of twinkle lights, jingle bells and soon-to-be exhausted customers. We’re right here to assist with a baker’s dozen Bay Space-centric eclectic reward concepts on your favourite foodie or fun-loving adventurer. Ho ho ho!
EAT: For the fromage fan, a cheese cave on your fridge
Actual turophiles know that mildew on cheese is usually a good factor. However stale cheese? Now that’s really wack.
You don’t have to fret about your treasured cheeses turning into waxy, chewy bricks with this piatto (cheese humidor) from native firm Cheese Grotto. Constructed from rustic wooden and clay brick, the piatto mimics the microclimate of an precise cheese cave to maintain cheeses recent – and in addition completely ripen complete wheels of brie and camembert.
The machine was invented by San Franciscan Jessica Sennett, who used to work as a cheesemonger for Sonoma County’s Cowgirl Creamery earlier than devoting her life to this doohickey. The Cheese Grotto, which slips into your fridge, reportedly shops cheeses 3 times longer than plastic or paper containers. It has received a World Dairy Innovation Award and heck, even Oprah loves it, placing it on her 2023 “Made in the USA” listing.
For the vacations, the Cheese Grotto is getting packaged with three soft-ripened cheeses from the Marin French Cheese Co. — a petite camembert, petite truffle brie and petite garlic-pepper brie. Like Wallace & Gromit, it’ll have the cheese lover in your life tittering… “Cheeeese!”
Particulars: $125 for the Cheese Grotto and three cheeses at cheesegrotto.com.
EAT: For the chocolate lover, Hapa bars
Silicon Valley chocolatier Charlotte Kryska labored for years within the native chocolate and bakery scenes — at Alexander’s Patisserie in Mountain View, then as a baker at Voyager Craft Espresso — earlier than venturing out on her personal final yr to start out her personal chocolate enterprise.
Her store’s title, Hapa Chocolat, provides a nod to her id as Hapa, somebody partly of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. She hopes it captures the concept that there’s a combine inside anyone particular person – or a person bar of chocolate.
Made in Los Gatos, Hapa’s single-origin chocolate bars incorporate a spread of components, from toasted almond pralines to — within the case of her new Cherry on Prime bars, cherry, chile and raspberry notes. Orders ought to be positioned by Dec. 16 for Christmas supply.
Particulars: One bar for $10 or 12 truffles for $13; hapachocolat.com/merchandise/
EAT: In your salumi sweetheart, Foustman’s Salami subscriptions, reward containers
Lamb Rosemary. Turkey Habanero. Pork Jalapeno.
Foustman’s Outdated World-style artisanal salamis — naturally cured — are available in 16 modern varieties, making them good presents for foodie mates and celebration hosts, whether or not you give one chub, a trio, a six-pack or a salami subscription.
Constructing on their California households’ love of salami, Justin and Jessica Foust based the corporate because the charcuterie motion was gaining steam, with headquarters in San Juan Bautista and manufacturing in a USDA kitchen in Oakland. Their bestselling San Francisco Type is made with pork shoulder, garlic and black pepper. Different varieties are infused with rosemary, wine, spicy peppers, fennel, even beer.
Moreover procuring on-line, you could find Foustman’s at weekly farmers markets in Mountain View, Palo Alto, Saratoga, Oakridge; at Zanotto’s markets in Sunnyvale, San Jose; and at many festivals and gala’s. Places abound in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties.
Particulars: Selection packs begin at $41.85 for 3, subscriptions begin at $78. https://foustmans.com/
EAT: Chocolate-covered honeycomb from Preston’s Sweet
Some prospects at Preston’s Sweet in Burlingame have been shopping for the store’s housemade, chocolate-covered honeycomb for greater than 55 years, says candymaker Javier Santiago.
It has at all times been one of the crucial fashionable objects on the store, which simply celebrated its 78th anniversary. Native honey is mixed with candy molasses to create an ethereal, crunchy texture that appears similar to honeycomb, then it’s completed with a layer of Santiago’s signature milk chocolate.
It’s a deal with so good that East Bay favourite Loard’s Ice Cream makes use of it to make an ice cream taste offered solely at Preston’s.
Particulars: Chocolate-covered honeycomb is $18 for 8 ounces on-line or at Preston’s Sweet, which is open day by day at 170 Broadway in Burlingame; prestonscandyshop.com.
DRINK: For the cocktail aficionado, King Floyd’s Bar Provisions
These regionally made craft bitters shine in a spread of cocktails – good for the house bartender in your procuring listing. Made in Novato, these bitters use extractions primarily based on recipes tons of of years previous. Many components are natural, and a few of their components, like chiles and rosemary, are grown in their very own backyard. They provide just a few totally different reward containers, all of which have cocktail recipes on the again, in addition to single bottles of bitters, bar snacks, cocktail kits and extra.
“Everything we do is small-batch,” says proprietor Lawrence Batterton. Order by Dec. 18 for an on-time Christmas supply.
Particulars: Present containers vary from $40-$75; kingfloyds.com/collections
DRINK: For the espresso contingent, Nirvana Soul’s java with a goal
Sister entrepreneurs Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashaolu are on a mission to unfold pleasure and assist worthwhile causes — one cup of espresso or bag of beans at a time. Their trailblazing Black-owned enterprise, Nirvana Soul, launched in 2020 in downtown San Jose and has since expanded to Cupertino and the MLK Library.
They procure beans from girls espresso producers all over the world, then roast them in San Jose. Their dark-roast Noir mix combines Colombia, Ethiopia and Guatemala beans; that’s the one utilized in the home chilly brew. Single-origin choices embody Mexico’s Bella Vista Girls’s Lot and La Familia Rodriguez, a espresso from a Guatemalan household that sponsors a free dental care day for 100 youths yearly.
One other philanthropic selection is the Challenge Objective, a mix of Ethiopian and Ugandan beans developed with a San Francisco 49ers participant. All income go to the T.Y. McGill Basis and its scholar mentorship applications.
Particulars: 12-ounce baggage ($20 to $24) can be found on the outlets (19700 Vallco Parkway, Cupertino, and 315 S. First St., San Jose) or on-line (freshly roasted beans ship each Friday). Merch and reward playing cards can be found to reinforce your current. www.nirvanasoulcoffee.com
DRINK: For mixology experts, make your individual tonic water with an Oaktown Spice Store package
Named one of many world’s greatest spice outlets by Meals & Wine Journal in 2022, Oaktown Spice Store was one of many first of its variety within the East Bay.
And whereas spice blends just like the Moroccan Tagine can spruce up any dinner entree, the tonic water package is an ideal technique to convey distinctive flavors to your subsequent gin and tonic.
The traditional package consists of cinchona powder, dried lemongrass, allspice berries and cubeb pepper to be boiled for 25 minutes with recent citrus juice and zest. Pressure it twice, add citric acid and sugar, then pour it over ice.
One reviewer mentioned they’ll by no means make one other gin and tonic with out it, whereas one other mentioned they added raspberries to make it an unforgettable cocktail.
Oaktown added a second model of the package that features elderflower, if you happen to’re in search of some floral notes in your cocktail or mocktail.
Particulars: Order the traditional tonic water package ($21.50) on-line or in one in every of its three Bay Space areas; oaktownspiceshop.com.
DRINK: For whisky sippers. a present field from tenth Avenue Distillery
Within the spirit of the season, think about a present of spirits for the whisky lover and any wanna-learn-about-whisky followers in your listing.
The tenth Avenue Distillery founders, Virag Saksena and Vishal Gauri, have been making award-winning, Scottish-style whiskies in an city spot in San Jose since 2017. And that occurred solely after a number of years of experimentation and fine-tuning by these Silicon Valley engineers.
This yr, the distillery has introduced again a vacation reward set that includes a bottle of single-malt whisky plus two glasses. The field is priced at $105 to $170, relying on the whisky chosen.
Which to pick out? Saksena and Gauri suggest the California Coast Mix, “an easy-drinking, approachable blend,” for these new to the world of whisky; the STR single malt for bourbon drinkers; and the Peated single malts, made with grain imported from Scotland, for individuals who take pleasure in Scotch. The distillery’s bestseller is their first triple cask, Dragon.
Particulars: Stroll-ins are welcome from 4 to eight p.m. Friday and from 1 to six p.m. Saturday-Sunday, with pickup solely hours 1 to five p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. 442 N. Fourth St., San Jose. Verify www.10thstreetdistillery.com/dwelling for different retail availability and particulars on tastings, occasions.
DRINK: For corkheads, VinGardeValise Piccolo 5-bottle carry-on baggage
Vacationers coming to or from the Bay Space know the routine nicely. You take pleasure in a scrumptious tasting at a beautiful winery, and also you’re tempted by the supply to waive the tasting payment, if you are going to buy two bottles of wine. However what do you do with the wine, if you happen to’re flying out the following day? Or if you happen to’re bringing wine to household or mates throughout the nation?
That’s the place the VinGardeValise is available in. Its hard-shell case is made to face up to a recreation of bumper automobiles within the airplane’s underbelly. A deep foam insert can preserve as much as 5 bottles of wine fastidiously nestled in place. Briefly, this baggage was made for the singular goal of getting your wine from location to location with out as a lot as a scratch.
CNN reviewed the product final yr and referred to as it extraordinarily sturdy, light-weight sufficient to refill with out worrying about extra checked-bag charges, and ideal at doing its job of defending your scrumptious souvenirs from injury on a protracted flight.
In case you’re not toting wine, you’ll be able to take away the froth insert and use the suitcase as, nicely, a suitcase. Go for the 12-bottle sized baggage, and you should use half the area for garments and the opposite half for a half-dozen bottles of wine, whiskey, olive oil or different fragile souvenirs. Or, you already know, 12 bottles of wine.
Particulars: Discover the 5-bottle carry-on baggage ($250) at VinGardeValise.com.
PLAY: For that atlas fan, beautiful historic maps of California and the Bay Space
California has a number of the grandest landscapes on the planet – each pure and concrete – and a inventive studio in Oakland is doing them justice with really eye-catching wall maps.
Native Language, a collective of native artists and makers, begins by sourcing cartographic paperwork that may date again 150 years from Stanford College’s David Rumsey Map Assortment, the U.S. Geological Survey and different venerable sources. The designers then pigment-print them on supplies that may maintain up and impress for years, like aluminum and maple. A number of the maps are fairly giant, measuring 3 by 2 ft, greater than enough to tie a complete wall collectively.
One map depicts the city of Brooklyn, named for a ship that introduced Mormons to California, which existed from 1856-1872 close to Oakland’s Lake Merritt earlier than being annexed by the rising metropolis. A reduction map displaying California in 1883 was included within the first mass-produced world atlas, Cram’s Unequalled Household Atlas of the World, and is filled with enjoyable historic railroads and place names. There’s a classic 1873 map of San Francisco that initially offered for 25 cents, a topographical map of the state’s mountain ranges that’s gold-leafed by hand, a copy of a classic woodcut of the Yosemite Valley. You get the concept: Nice items for historical past lovers and design aficionados alike.
Particulars: Maps vary from $395-$650 (for topographical) and can be found at 477 twenty fifth St., Oakland and on-line at locallanguageart.com.
PLAY: For youths ages 8 to 100, a jigsaw puzzle to assist the zoo
Lovers of native artwork and native animal conservation ought to relish this animal-filled jigsaw puzzle in regards to the Oakland Zoo’s California Path.
The path, which opened in 2018, doubled the zoo’s footprint to 100 acres and established new viewing alternatives for California native species like grey wolves, grizzly bears, jaguars and California condors. In fact, because of over-hunting the one place you’re going to see grizzlies anymore on this state is in synthetic environments – thus the significance of the zoo’s conservation efforts, which embody elevating younger American bison to launch right into a rising colony in Montana.
The five hundred-piece puzzle depicts animals and crops you’ll encounter whereas wandering the path. It was designed by Brian Clarke, aka Les Toil, a Berkeley artist with a eager retro fashion impressed by previous paperback guide covers and film posters. The 16- by 20-inch puzzle is manufactured by the Oakland Puzzle Firm, a mission-driven group understanding of a small native manufacturing facility. Bonus: 10 % of gross sales from this puzzle go to assist the Oakland Zoo.
Particulars: Discover the 500-piece puzzle ($33) utilizing the zoo’s affiliate hyperlink at https://oaklandpuzzle.com/merchandise/california-trail?ref=OAKLANDZOO.
PLAY: For the showgoing fan: A DoTheBay subscription
Everyone knows the Bay Space is a scorching spot for arts, music and comedy. However easy methods to make the most of all these occasions when, as they are saying, the lease is just too rattling excessive? That’s the place a DoTheBay subscription may also help.
For $7 a month, this system affords subscribers a pair of tickets every month – and typically extra – to a live performance, comedy present or cultural occasion. Usually, tickets are launched in batches, and subscribers select one in every of as much as seven occasions. In the previous couple of months, these tickets have included occasions just like the San Jose Opera (with glorious seats), a Santa Cruz live performance and San Jose comedy reveals.
Particulars: $7 per thirty days; https://dostuffmedia.com/domore.
PLAY: Make sourdough bread or pizza at The Mill
Oakland’s Josey Baker was a science instructor when he fell in love with baking. He turned to breadmaking full time and ultimately opened The Mill in San Francisco in 2010. Inside just some years, The Mill was thriving, Baker had revealed an entry-level cookbook, “Josey Baker Bread,” and amassed greater than 57,000 followers on Instagram.
His bread is now offered throughout the Bay Space. However if you wish to be taught to bake your individual, Baker may also help. He’s taught lessons everywhere in the world — together with at The Mill, the place he teaches bakers the ins and outs of creating the entire grain sourdough that made him well-known.
The 2-hour class supplies the how-tos on maintaining a sourdough starter wholesome and lively and making and shaping complete grain sourdough bread — and easy methods to flip your property equipment into an expert bread oven. He does a sourdough pizza class, too.
Particulars: Sourdough lessons ($125) are taught from 4:30 to six:30 p.m. a number of days every week at The Mill, 736 Divisadero St., San Francisco; joseybakerbread.com.
