Cookies, wine, international foods make great Christmas gifts
Finding just the right Christmas gift for each of your family members and friends can be somewhat of a challenge, but it’s less so if the person you’re shopping for is a lover of food and drink. Restaurant and supermarket gift cards are always a possibility (and an easy one), and local and national businesses have a smorgasbord of suitable gifts. Here are 10:
For the food lover
Walk through the aisles of the International Marketplace and put together a collection following a theme (or not), then load it up onto a tray or into a basket. Among the possibilities are chocolate-orange cake mix with edible glitter from Germany, $8.39; chocolate-covered macadamia nuts from Japan, $2.61; sesame snacks from Greece, $1.67; dark chocolate-peppermint candy from England, $1.88; Speculaas cookies from Holland, $3.45; nuts in honey syrup from Turkey, $7.76; sour cherry preserves from Armenia, $5.13; raspberry-poitin (liquor) preserves from Ireland, $5.24; grape-flavored dessert cubes from Indonesia, $1.46; cassis (currant) candy from Slovakia, $1.98; roasted ground coffee from Italy, $5.24; and even a tray from China, $6.29. 5999 S. Decatur Blvd.
For the wine lover
Skip the French and Napa labels; if you want to show your impeccable taste and appeal to theirs, give some wines produced right here in Southern Nevada. The Vegas Valley Winery produces three white wines, two rosés and three reds, all of which are available for $20 to $29 a bottle in the winery’s tasting room, where they’re also available by the glass for $8 to $9.50 for sampling. Another option is a tasting of five of the featured wines for $10 or seven for $14. 7360 Eastgate Road, Henderson; vegasvalleywinery.com
A sweet way to help
Eating well while doing good always is a good thing, and that’s what happens when you buy cookies from Opportunity Village. OV’s Bakery Treats division is baking and filling holiday tins decorated with custom artwork created in the organization’s fine-arts program. The tin of a half-dozen cookies has three oatmeal-raisin and three chocolate chip for $11.99. A dozen, at $18.99, contains those, plus three sugar and three peanut butter cookies. The deluxe tin has two dozen for $29.99, with six of each. Tins also can be customized on request and pickups are available at the Engelstad Campus, 6050 S. Buffalo Drive. ovtreats.com
For the beer drinker
If you’re a Christmas geek, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland is your kind of place. The store in Frankenmuth, Michigan, is the size of one and a half football fields and packed with 50,000 gifts. What does that matter to you in Las Vegas, Nevada? Well, the same proliferation of Christmas stuff fills Bronner’s website. Enter “food” in the search engine and you’ll have access to nearly 300 ornaments related to food and drink, some of which can be personalized. Among the collection is this Craft Beer Growler, emblazoned with “Hoppy Christmas,” made of glass in Poland. $22.99, bronners.com
For the traditionalist Ellis Island Casino has been making its Holiday Nog for more than 15 years, using an old recipe handed down through the Ellis family. The property’s brewmaster used more than 16,000 eggs for the nearly 5,000 bottles produced this year. The nog is available only at Ellis Island and all 13 Village Pub locations for $35 a bottle or $7 a glass. ellisislandcasino.com
For the time-pressed
If you’ve ever stopped into Eataly at Park MGM, you know the store, filled with a variety of mini Italian markets, is an amazing repository of all things from the boot relating to food and drink — sweet, savory, cured, bubbly, not bubbly and on and on. If you don’t want to make up your own gift basket, you can go with a pre-packaged one. The boxes, which are themed and curated, contain Italian food items from wine to chocolate to panettone. Boxes vary in size and price, or you can customize at will. Starting at $49.90, eataly.com.
Pop goes your Christmas
Popcorn balls seem to have gotten a bad name over the years because they’ve devolved into, in most cases, sticky, flavorless lumps. Not so the popcorn balls from The Curious Confectionery, which are 100-percent vegan, usually gluten-free and made without artificial ingredients. And they come in amazing flavors, such as the ever-popular hummingbird which, just like a hummingbird cake, is made with cinnamon-caramel popcorn tossed with candied pineapple, pecan pieces and shredded coconut. Or the November flavor of the month, which is available this month, too: maple-cinnamon-caramel with cranberries and pumpkin seeds. $12 for a four-pack, Downtown Summerlin Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, and thecuriousconfectionery.com
Buy the book
Whether they want to relive one of their favorite meals in Las Vegas or try something at home they haven’t had in person, a cookbook from a favorite chef is a great keepsake for foodies who experiment in the kitchen. And as Pok Pok Wing’s Andy Ricker said (his latest book “Pok Pok Noodles: Recipes from Thailand and Beyond [A Cookbook]” was released this year) a physical book not only looks better under the tree, it’s “a more satisfying visceral experience” than an eBook. Many local chefs sell their books in their restaurants, including Hubert Keller, Michael Mina, Michael Symon, Bobby Flay, Lorena Garcia, Thomas Keller and Honey Salt’s Elizabeth Blau. And a recent visit to The Writer’s Block revealed titles from José Andrés, Momofuku’s David Chang, Christina Tossi of Milk Bar and the team behind Eataly. 519 S. Sixth St., thewritersblock.org
Chef and bar merch
There was a time not so long ago when businesses gave out T-shirts with their names on them as a form of advertising. But ever since the Hard Rock cafe chain turned merchandising into a cottage industry, bars and restaurants have been working hard to make their promotional items must-have fashion accessories. If anyone on your list has a favorite bar, restaurant or chef — from celebrities such as Guy Fieri to punk rock institutions such as the Double Down Saloon — chances are good you can pick up a T-shirt they’ll love. Plus, Emeril Lagasse offers koozies and cups at Lagasse’s Stadium, Estiatorio Milos has its own brand of olive oil and Momofuku its own line of seasoned salts. But there may be nobody with a better selection of merch than Gordon Ramsay, who offers different products and styles at each restaurant, and has gone so far as to market “Idiot Sandwich” earmuffs shaped like two pieces of bread.
Can it
The local beer scene has made tremendous progress in recent years and most of the brewers sell growlers to go. Able Baker Brewing Company has improved on that tradition with the introduction of Crowlers, essentially growlers in 32-ounce can form. The team at its Arts District tasting room will fill a can with a selection straight from the tap, seal it before your eyes and present it to you. Refrigerate until gifting, and you’re done. Given the size of the cans, brewery staff won’t package anything with an alcohol content over 10-percent ABV. But that still leaves 19 choices, including the partner brews with Vegas Golden Knights player Ryan Reaves. Able Baker’s James Manos recommends drinking the Hazy IPAs within three to five days of purchase and regular IPAs and pilsners within seven to 10 days. Saisons and dark beers, however, will remain tasty for up to two weeks. $10 to $20, 1510 S. Main St., ablebakerbrewing.com
Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or Al Mancini at amancini @reviewjournal.com.