You can find pretty much anything in New York City, which is both a blessing and a curse. During the holidays, it makes gift-giving a seriously daunting task. This guide narrows down the best of the best, with something for everyone—from the off-duty restaurant fan, to the home cook and the amateur bartender. If this list doesn’t get the job done, check out Eater's national guide for more ideas.
For the Restaurant Fan
The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook
Reading more like a yearbook than a cookbook, recipes are peppered throughout the reflections and conversations of everyone involved in Mission Chinese's story. Read an excerpt here.
Price: $34.99.
Momofuku Grand Slam Gift Pack
This is the holiday holy grail for David Chang groupies. The peach-branded tote bag comes stuffed to the gills with Milk Bar cookies, Ssam sauces, Lucky Peach lit, and even Fuku koozies.
Price: $125.
DRINKS
Doc Herson's Absinthe
Founded in Harlem and now produced in Brooklyn, Doc Herson’s makes a lively addition to any holiday bar or meal. The taste is herbal with a slightly bitter finish that will please the serious absinthe drinker. Nix the absinthiana and sugar cube and try it with a splash of water or in coffee. Price: $15 - $45.
Bellocq Tea
There is a tea for everyone at Brooklyn-based Bellocq. The Parks Dept, containing black teas, spruce tips and juniper, and the White Wolf are two outdoors-inspired blends to stoke the imagination of anyone who can’t make it out of the city this season.
Price: $15 - $40.
Mahia
This traditionally Jewish-North African spirit is produced by a husband and wife team in Yonkers. Distilled from dried figs with a touch of anise, it's delightfully smooth and mild. Mahia can be sipped neat, mixed with lemonade, and makes for a mean hot toddy.
Price: $36 - $46.
La Boîte Spiced Hot Chocolate
Lior Lev Sercarz, the celebrated spice blender behind Manhattan’s La Boîte, has brought his blends to this trio of seasoned hot chocolates. It features the pain d'épice-inspired Reims, cinnamon-spiced Yemen, and Orchidea, which is scented with Sichuan peppercorn, orchid root, and lime. Price: $54
Food
Pony Cakes
These cookie sandwiches are the perfect storm of 2015 buzzwords — vegan, gluten-free, and Brooklyn-based. They come in three chewy, creamy flavors and can be eaten frozen or chilled.
Price: $14.75 for a pack of three.
Sfoglini's Pasta of the Month Club
Monthly deliveries come with two pasta selections each — one of Sfoglini's signature organic pastas, and one specialty pasta made with seasonal ingredients. The package includes recipes and pairing suggestions for each pasta.
Price: $75 for a three-month membership.
Butter & Scotch Cocktail Flavored Caramel Corn
The Crown Heights bakery/bar’s cocktail-inspired caramel corn ups the ante on the holiday popcorn tin. They’ve got dark & stormy, green chile margarita, and hot toddy. Buy them by the bag or try all three with their nostalgic tri-flavor tin.
Price: $25 for three bags.
Raaka Chocolate
"Virgin" chocolate bars (read: made with unroasted cacao) come in flavors like vanilla rooibos, cask-aged bourbon, and coconut milk. They're complex, with hand-designed packaging to boot. Bonus: Raaka offer tours of its Red Hook factory and a chocolate-of-the-month club. Price: $7.95 - $9.99 per bar.
New York in a Dozen Dishes
Eater’s own critic Robert Sietsema uses 12 dishes as a keyhole to explore New York culture. Toying with the concept of "iconic" NYC food, included are pizza and black and white cookies, as well as more unexpected picks (like guinea pig) that force us out of our tunnel-visioned New Yorker ways. Price: $19.80.
Home
Fishs Eddy Brooklynese Collection
The ultimate set for any Brooklynite (or wannabe Brooklynite), whether they take their cawfee with creamuh or shuguh. Options include all the dishware basics scrawled with cheeky "Brooklynese" — buttah tray, dish clawth, and sawlt & peppa shakers.
Price: $11.95 - $53.80.
Harold NYC Hanging Cutting Boards
From the Red Hook workshop of Harold NYC come this set of cleanly designed cutting boards. Each board has a notch that hooks onto a mountable hanging rack for easy storage and drying.
Price: $200.