Satisfying the food lover on your holiday list

By Kim Galeaz

No need to drive to the suburban mall to find that perfect gift for the food lover on your holiday list. Just take a short walk to the many unique stores in our Downtown neighborhoods and you’ll find dozens of creative “foodie” gift ideas. So many ideas, in fact, that instead of saying what should I buy, you’ll be agonizing over which one will be the most perfect. Let me help reduce the holiday shopping stress by sharing some ideas. I’ve visited seven of our urban merchants and created 10 gift-giving themes that will be perfect for every age and type of food lovers on your list. Happy and healthy holiday shopping.

Beer Buddy. Your favorite beer-drinking buddy will enjoy trying a few new craft beers, so head to Mass Ave Wine Shoppe or Goose The Market for plenty of choices. Consider the Belgian Lambic Pomme (apple) or Lambic Framboise (raspberry) beer or a wide variety of single 22-ounce bottles from Goose – the fairly new gourmet meat and food market at 25th and Delaware Street in Fall Creek Place.

Do-it-yourself types will find great satisfaction in creating their own brew. Get them started with beer-making supplies from Easley Winery. A whole room at Easley Winery is filled with nothing but beer- and wine-making supplies for both beginners and advanced home brewers.

Breakfast in Bed. Global Gifts has the most beautiful trays made from unique woods and bamboo, perfect for serving breakfast in bed. After selecting just the right tray, stop at Goose The Market and pick out everything else needed for that luscious and luxurious morning meal: Fresh croissants or homemade muffins (from Scholars Inn), fresh mixes of Granola (from H20 Sushi in Broad Ripple), Irish oatmeal in plain or brown sugar-maple, a jar of lingonberries, unique honey, orange marmalade and black currant or raspberry jam.

Chocolate Decadence. Imagine standing in front of the confectionary case at The Best Chocolate in Town picking out “just a few” pieces of pure indulgent gourmet chocolates for your chocoholic friend. The conversation would go something like this. “Let’s see. I’ll have a couple pieces of milk chocolate toffee…without nuts is fine….and two of these

Truffles from Best Chocolate in Town.

dark chocolate creamy caramels. Oh, and a few chocolate peanut butter balls….wait! I forgot the truffles….let’s do one of each: amaretto, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, Key lime, lemon chiffon, orange and pineapple. Can you squeeze in a cheesecake and Asian spice truffle as well? Okay, throw in a chili truffle, too. What? I forgot the peppermint bark?!”

You will gleefully go overboard creating a custom box of chocolates at The Best Chocolate in Town. But if selecting seems a bit daunting, then take advantage of the prepackaged small and large assortment boxes. And grab a Kanga bar (crispies and chocolate) and a few chocolate dipped pretzels and grahams for yourself as you head out the door.

Hot cocoa mixes also satisfy chocolate lovers and are available at Global Gifts (which stocks the Equal Exchange brand) and Goose The Market (where Vosges Couture Cocoa is described as hot chocolate with a twist).

At Global Gifts, there’s even music to eat your chocolate by; pick up the Putumayo World Music CD, “Music From Chocolate Lands.”

Coffee & Tea Lovers. A new and unique whole bean or ground coffee from either Goose The Market or Global Gifts will please coffee drinkers on your list. Both stores offer fair trade coffee; Indianapolis-based Hubbard and Cravens at Goose The Market and Equal Exchange at Global Gifts. Pick up a couple of coffee mugs, too, from Global Gifts or At Home in the City. (Coffee drinkers with a sense of humor will appreciate the Freudian Sips mug from At Home in the City). Or create your own; kids especially will love making customized coffee mugs for Grandma and Grandpa with the “Paint a Pair o’ Mugs” Kit at Mass Ave Toys.

If your friend prefers afternoon tea over morning coffee, then get them a new teapot from Global Gifts. Maybe they’ll enjoy the one with a traditional Vietnamese blue-flowered motif called hoa lam at Global Gifts or the Asian-inspired versions from At Home in the City. Just don’t forget the tea; either Hubbard & Cravens loose leaf at Goose The Market or bags and leaves from around the world at Global Gifts.

Entertaining in Style. Most foodies know that it’s more than just the food that makes a great meal. It’s the dishes, the decorations and the music that all add up to create that stylish ambiance.

A visit to At Home in the City will get you started on selecting gifts for your urban-condo-contemporary friends. Consider candles and candle holders, cocktail and wine stemware and wine charms and beer bands for your guests’ glasses. Cocktail lovers will enjoy the hip ice kabobs, like the one with three nifty guitar shapes. Table runners in cool prints are a nice change from a full tablecloth. And check out the paper napkins in numerous stylish motifs. At Home in the City also features a huge selection of gorgeous Asian trays and sushi serving dishes and even fun, yet functional, clothespin chopsticks.

Dedicated food-lovers appreciate style in the kitchen, too. Keep that cookbook up off the counter and pristine clean with the Umbra contemporary cookbook holder. Vivid colors of flour sack towels indicate you know that flour-sack cloth is one of the most absorbent fabrics for kitchen duties. Food-lovers who really want to impress their friends will value the silver-plated measuring spoons.

Global Gifts offers stylish pieces as well. The samba wood salad bowl with serving fork and spoon from Laos is beautiful. So is the Rauli wood two-compartment tray with spoon from the West Bank. Fabric table linens (tablecloths and napkins) from India and Nepal feature traditional, handloom prints and would look outstanding on any table.

One last stop for that perfect, always-in-style gift – Goose The Market for fresh flowers.

Family Fun & Games – Pop open bags of Caramel Cashew and White Chocolate Raspberries & Cream popcorn from Best Chocolate in Town and let the games begin! Mass Ave Toys offers Pizza Pile-Up and Chef Alfredo’s Food Fight, a game where flinging meatballs at the chef will make you the winner. More appropriate for outside family fun would be the Marshmallow Shooter and Potato Gun, also at Mass Ave Toys. (Why is it I picture grown men getting more of a kick out of these two toys than the kids?!) For the grown-ups only, choose the Wine Lover’s Challenge Game from Easley Winery.

Italian Feast – Adventurous cooks wanting to try a few new pasta shapes will find them at Goose The Market. But don’t stop there with your gift; give them an entire bag of ingredients to make a delicious Italian feast. Load up on balsamic vinegar, plain or flavored extra virgin olive oil, gourmet canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, jarred anchovies and garlic vinaigrette salad dressing. Don’t forget to include a loaf of fresh bread (from Scholars Inn) and a huge hunk of Italian cheese from the Deli case. And since music sets the festive mood, include the “Italian Café” CD from Global Gifts.

Little Chefs. Future chefs of America can perfect their cooking skills in a wooden kitchen unit from Mass Ave Toys. You’ll need plenty of toy food, especially the wooden German pieces. These durable shapes – fish, meat, bread, birthday cake and pizza – can be cut and sliced over and over again with the wooden knife. Fruits and vegetables are

Treat the young ones to a “Food Fight” game from Mass Ave Toys.

available in wooden and plastic shapes as well. Don’t forget the proper equipment: a food scale, essential baking and cooking utensils and plenty of pots and pans. Oh, and the microwave oven, because even little chefs are in a hurry.

A really savvy chef-to-be will want to “go shopping” and pick out her own food. The wooden mini-shopping cart is perfect for large shopping trips; little shopping baskets are ideal for just a few things. These plastic baskets come filled with themed pieces, like Baker, Sandwich, Lunch or Breakfast.

Young chefs ages 6 to 12 can learn about using fresh, local ingredients and prepare recipes from the “Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook” at Global Gifts. Look for other cookbooks in At Home in the City; they have dozens featuring celebrity chefs.

If your little chef has Mad Scientist tendencies, pick up one of the Scientific Explorer kits at Mass Ave Toys. Choose from Ice Cream, Soda Pop, Tasty Science or After Dinner Science –creative uses for leftovers.

Picnic Basket Perfection. Must-haves for every picnic basket can be found at At Home in the City: reusable bamboo eating utensils (sold in knife, fork and spoon sets), and the ever-so practical Picnic Stemware Stakes. Stake these wire stands in the ground and voilá! Your wine glasses won’t tip over. Even better? The Picnic Stake Set. This set includes those wine glass stakes as well as a stake for the wine bottle itself. Now you can relax and enjoy your picnic at Symphony on the Prairie!

Easley Winery offers a deluxe “Picnic for Four” ensemble. This basket contains everything but the actual food and wine, from real silverware and plates, to wine glasses and napkins.

Wine Enthusiasts. You will love shopping for a wine gift at all three of our urban neighborhood wine stores. Each location has its own unique characteristics and features and they all offer great tasting and excellent quality wines.

Mass Ave Wine Shoppe sells nearly 200 labels, but their real showstopper is the Wall of Wine: 50 under $15. What a clever way to make great wines accessible even to those on a tight budget. While you’re buying wine at Mass Ave Wine Shoppe, be sure and pick up some St. Andre Triple Cream Cheese for a melt in your mouth treat.

The Urban Times neighborhood includes plenty of outlets for unique wines, including Easley Winery. Shoppers can also find unique gifts at Mass Ave Wine Shoppe and Goose, The Market.

Goose The Market offers a boutique selection of meaty wines downstairs on their lower level. These wines are considered strong enough to stand up to the hearty beef, pork, lamb and veal in the fresh meat case upstairs. While you’re at the deli case picking out cheese to go with your wine gift, ask about their special program, “A Dozen Cheeses Before You Die.” This fun, 12-step program will allow you to always make a good decision with choosing cheese.

Easley Winery is the only winery in Downtown Indianapolis, featuring around 25 wines – all produced and bottled right there in the historic winery. Many of their wines are award-winning, like the double gold for Barrel White, gold for Reggae Red, Chambourcin and Merlot, and silver for the Indiana Champagne. Since the winery has free wine tastings daily, visitors get to taste before buying. One extremely unique gift for any wine-lover is a bottle with a personalized label and Easley Winery has a complete personalized wine label program. What a great idea for not only the holidays, but anniversaries, birthdays and any celebration.

If someone on your list has always wanted to make their own wine, sign them up for one of Easley Winery’s Wine-Making Classes. Their next one is Jan. 12. This class emphasizes everything about making your own wine from best practices and clarification to sweetening and bottling. n

Super (or silly) stocking stuffers

Bacon. Grab some Gummy Bacon at Mass Ave Toys. One package, complete with a “bacon-viewing window,” contains four slices of strawberry-flavored gummy bacon. Don’t forget the Bacon Strip Band-aids for little chefs with boo-boos.

Fish. Give a gift card from Goose The Market and your favorite foodie will be able to order fresh fish Thursday for pick-up on Friday. Or he can use that gift card for local Indiana pork, poultry and beef in the meat case, sopprasata and prosciutto in the deli case or saffron and Chinese cinnamon from the Spice Pharmacy.

Music. Global Gifts offers CDs from the Putumayo World Music line. Perfect matching music for your next dinner party, like Latin Jazz, Reggae, Cajun, Asian, Turkish and Caribbean.

Polar Bear. The Poo-lar Bear actually. This little plastic trinket from At Home in the City gets the award for Most Dichotomous stocking stuffer; it’s at once disgusting and hilarious. This “subzero poopin’ hero” comes with cola and butterscotch flavored jelly beans.

Turtles. Rich, dense, chewy and deliciously-decadent turtle squares from The Best Chocolate in Town in milk and dark chocolate. Caramel, pecans and chocolate equal pure heaven.

Widgets. All the indulgent, yet essential supplies for Wine and Cheese Lovers, like the Soiree at Mass Ave Wine Shoppe. This handy wine bottle decanter aerates the wine as you pour, allowing the wine to achieve its fullest taste and bouquet. Serve cheese with fun and artsy spreaders from Easley Winery, like the holiday light bulb spreaders or the ones with wedges of cheeses on the top.