Metrocurean's Local Food Gift Guide

My favorite type of gift is one that doesn't stick around long, gathering dust on some shelf or sinking to the back of a closet. What better fits that category than food?

This holiday season, give friends and family a taste of DC with these locally made treats.

• Chocolate: Thanks to a boom in local chocolatiers, the city's selection of locally made chocolates keeps getting better. Pictured above is a coconut truffle from The Cacao Tree. Owner Sandra Escobar makes a variety of delicious artisanal truffles. For more local chocolates and sweets, check out Artisan Confections, Christopher's Confections, Chocolaterie Wanders, J Chocolatier, Kingsbury Chocolates (which is about to open a cocoa gallery on 14th Street NW) and Locolat. Shops selling locally made chocolates include Biagio Fine Chocolate and Artfully Chocolate.

• Toigo Farms Bloody Mary Mix: This fiery hot mix, pictured above, is often available at the Dupont FreshFarm Market. Perfect for a holiday brunch. Read more here.

• Coffee: Local coffee roasters are a good place to turn for caffeine fiend gifts. Metro riders may get a kick out of Quartermaine's Red Line Blend. Also check out Murky Coffee and Annapolis' Caffe Pronto.

• Uncle Brutha's hot sauce: The locally made hot sauces from Uncle Brutha's are some of my favorites. The Fire Sauce No. 10 (at right) has an intense smoky flavor. Stop by their store near Eastern Market.

• Cibola Farms buffalo jerky: This Culpeper, Va., buffalo farm sells its tasty jerky (I like the hot version) at local farmers markets and online.

• Gifford's gift baskets: Named for presidents Jefferson, Washington and Lincoln, Gifford's gift baskets are packed with homemade treats like pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate, vanilla and chocolate caramels, Gifford's diamond-shaped chocolate bars, and a jar of Gifford's signature hot fudge sauce.

• Cowgirl Creamery cheeses: Cowgirl's own delicious cheeses are made out in California, but the local Penn Quarter shop carries a nice selection of mid-Atlantic cheeses. Check out the Capitol City Cheese Board, available online and pictured at right, which features two Virginia cheeses.

Did I miss your favorite local treat? Tell us about it in the comments.

Comments

monkeyrotica said…
M.E. Swing's Coffee, 1702 G Street NW, around the corner from the White House. Been selling and roasting their own coffee in DC since 1916. Much tastier than some of the johnny-come-latelys. Pretty good bulk tea selection as well.
11/28/2007 1:56 PM
Amanda said…
Nice one - thanks, monkeyerotica.
11/28/2007 6:22 PM
Anonymous said…
Great minds think alike . . . I decided yesterday to give the gift of chocolate this year . . . but I'm going to make the truffles myself and I need help with truffle flavor ideas . . . so I posted a request for such assistance on my blog here. Please weigh in!
11/28/2007 6:27 PM
Anonymous said…
ShoeBox Oven has some terrific gift ideas, and Krishna's baking is to die for...

http://www.shoeboxoven.com
11/29/2007 9:33 AM
McLean Robbins said…
Caroline's Cakes in Annapolis is amazing - her seven layer caramel cake is practically sin on a plate.
They shop all over the country too - www.carolinescakes.com
11/29/2007 9:41 AM
Anonymous said…
Gerard Huet's bakery in Oxon Hill is phenomenal.

http://www.dessertsbygerard.com/home.htm
11/29/2007 12:13 PM
Amanda said…
Keep em coming! Great ideas, all.
11/29/2007 2:06 PM
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