Whether you’re looking for an edible gift, some tasty snacks and drinks to serve at your holiday hangs or a unique culinary experience, these are some of my favorite places to shop local! Bonus: after I made my list, I noticed that every single business just so happens to be woman-owned, POC-owned or both!
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Chef Shop (for panettone!)
Before I tasted the panettone sold at Chef Shop, a highly curated, specialty foods shop in Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood, I would have told you I’m not a fan. But the plush, eggy, sweet Christmas breads they import from Italy are nothing like the dry panettone I had growing up. These are rich and buttery like cake, with the lightness of brioche and the feathery pull of fresh challah. There are more than a dozen to choose from, though many are already sold out, so don’t dilly dally! — blood orange and olive oil; fig and chocolate; pistachio cream. My favorite, by far, is the Borsari Panettone Crema Limoncello, that looks as bright and sunny as it tastes and is even more delicious with an indulgent schmear of salted, European butter. They're all beautifully hand packaged, ready to be gifted or look cute on your kitchen counter as you nibble your way through the holiday season. Chef Shop offers samples, so stop in for a taste before you buy!
Mixed Pantry
This is a food lover’s stocking stuffer paradise! From the dozens of colorfully labeled chili crisps to bags of Bombay Spice potato chips to a black glutinous rice porridge flavored chocolate bar, Mixed Pantry is a celebration of Asian and Asian American flavors, thoughtfully curated from AAPI makers. Tak Kunimune, the delightfully cheerful owner, tastes and cooks with every product before deeming it worthy for his shelves; and many of the items are crafted by local producers. If you’re looking for an out-of-the-box activity for visiting friends or family, book one of their fun and super informative soy sauce or chili crisp tastings. Learn more about Mixed Pantry in Season 3 of The Nosh, premiering this spring!
Book Larder
Why faff around in a big box bookstore, stumbling through the science fiction paperbacks and the romance novels, when you can go to an all-cookbook bookstore and be surrounded by nothing but cookbooks and food magazines and chef memoirs and cultural culinary essays?! And if you don’t know what book to get for the cook in your life, their friendly, food-loving staff can steer you towards their favorite books on soup/baking/Moroccan cooking/etc. It’s also the only place where you can grab a signed copy of my cookbook, Open Sesame. 😊
Cheeky & Dry
Pop into Seattle’s first and only non-alcoholic bottle shop to get a head start on dry January with a free n/a wine tasting this Saturday, December 6 from 12 – 6 p.m. I asked owner Kirsten Vracko to recommend some of her favorite drinks in the shop:
For Gifting:
Wilderton's Bittersweet and Citrus Aperitivo gift box.
These non-alcoholic aperitivos are handcrafted in small batches in Hood River, Oregon from raw botanicals and a tea base. Complex and delicious. Spritz season is forever!
To serve at a holiday party or dinner:
Giffard Elderflower Nonalcoholic Liqueur mixed with non-alcoholic sparkling wine
A gorgeous alcohol-free riff on a French 75 with handpicked elderflowers macerated in white wine vinegar with notes of lychee, floral rose and wormwood.
Muri Passing Clouds
Out of Copenhagen, this sparkling “wine” is absolutely stunning and like nothing you’ve had before. A blend of gooseberry wine, quince kefir, cold brewed jasmine tea, locally foraged woodruff and geranium kvass. Amazing with oysters!
The Pantry
If someone gifted me a class at this cozy Ballard cooking school, I would know they really love me! I have taken close to a dozen hands-on classes at The Pantry – modern German cooking, backyard grilling, Japanese ramen, The Falafel Stand, a two-day dim sum class – and not only do the dishes come out tasting like they were made in the best restaurant, the instructors are fantastic. Double down on the gift of experience and take the class with the person you’re gifting it to.
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Have a food- or drink-related question? (Need a restaurant rec? Have a mystery that needs solving?) Send me a note: rachel.belle@cascadepbs.org
XO
Rachel Belle
