Gifts We’re Giving (Part 2)

We present a few more ideas for foodie gifts with a local accent. Part 1 of our gift round-up appeared in SideDish last Tuesday, December 13.

THE PATH OF TEA, 2340 W. Alabama, 713-252-4473
This totally organic tea shop features more than 145 varieties of premium organic fair-trade teas.
The friendly staffers are happy to guide you through a fun, sensory experience to choose the best gift – perhaps a beautiful green tea, oolong, chai or roobios tea. Or consider a gift certificate for a tasting class with owner Thia McKann, Texas’ only certified “Tea Master” (one of only 14 such experts in the country). Lovely teapots for perfect brewing are also available. Visit thepathoftea.com.

THE CHOCOLATE BAR, 1835 W. Alabama, 713-520-8599 & 2521 University Blvd., 713-520-8888
The Chocolate Bar has fun chocolate gifts year-round, plus lots of seasonal goodies. I like that they offer most everything in your choice of milk, white or dark chocolate. Favorites include their gourmet chocolate bites with ingredients like cashews, peppermint or candied ginger (my favorite, enrobed in dark chocolate). The chocolate-dipped Mint Milano, Nutter Butter and Oreo cookies are winners as well. Talk about great stocking stuffers. Visit theoriginalchocolatebar.com.

TEXAS TAMALE COMPANY
Tamales are a classic Christmas tradition in Texas, and these are some of the best around (and also gluten-free). Consider the “Tamale Appetizer Kit,” which includes two dozen gourmet tamales (your choice of beef, black bean, chicken, pork or spinach tamales), plus a pint of home-style chili. The tamales and chili are widely available in area supermarkets. To place a gift order or peruse what’s available, visit texastamale.com

GOODE COMPANY
For an all-out Texas gift, consider the variety of gift baskets like the “Bonafide Brazos Crate,” a rustic crate packed with goodies like pralines, blue cornbread mix, habanero peanuts, Texas Trash Mix, salsa and more. They’ll even package and ship their Goode barbecue or their famous Brazos Bottom Pie. See the entire catalog of yummy Texas offerings at goodecompany.com.

FLUFF BAKE BAR
Pretty much anything award-winning pastry chef Rebecca Masson comes up with would melt the heart of a foodie. She makes French macarons in a variety of flavors, as well as American-style Fluffernutters (oatmeal/peanut butter cookies sandwiched with peanut butter cream and marshmallow fluff). My current obsession is her take on the classic Oreo: dark chocolate cookies with a hint of salt sandwiched with a white buttercream filling. I’m also huge fan of her ginger cookies made with bacon fat and boasting intense ginger flavor. Available at Revival Market or by special order at fluffbakebar.com.

LOCAL BOOKS
Three of our favorites include:
Green Beans and Guacamole, a fundraiser cookbook, is much more beautiful and useful than that description would suggest. It includes recipes and photos from nearly 50 of Houston’s best restaurants, and proceeds benefit ARC. Cost is $49.95, and the book is available at greenbeansandguacamole.com as well as at some of the restaurants featured in the book and H-E-B supermarkets.

Houston Classic Seafood is the third in a series of cookbooks by local author Erin Hicks Miller. The other two are Houston Classic Mexican and Houston Classic Desserts. Each book is $16.95. They are widely available locally and on amazon.com.

And how could we not mention our own The Ultimate Food Lover’s Guide to Houston from the editors of My Table magazine? This second edition, which just came out last month, covers restaurants, as well as ethnic markets, pubs, wine bars and icehouses, farmers’ markets, fishmongers, bakeries, coffeehouses, tea shops, butchers, specialty shops and much more. It’s $19.95 and available at many Houston retailers as well as at my-table.com and amazon.com.

COOKING CLASSES
For the foodie who loves to cook consider a gift certificate for a cooking class. (Think “knife skills” for the novice cook – it could be life changing.) We have a number of resources in Houston. Check out these options:

centralmarket.com
surlatable.com
 riceepicurean.com
urbanchefhouston.com
cookeatcreate.com
hubbellandhudson.com/viking-cooking-school.html
grillmaster101.com