Festive and flavorful finds for your favorite foodie
‘Tis the season to be … hungry! Gift-giving time is here, and if you’ve got a dedicated foodie in your life (and who doesn’t?!), make the holiday season even more special with a present that he or she will truly love. Your favorite foodie doesn’t need another tie or scarf – it will just end up splattered in gravy like all the others. And please, no shirts or pants – foodies often vary in size throughout the year, so why risk reminding him or her of that unfortunate circumstance?
With that in mind, The Rehoboth Foodie has taken it upon himself to make a few suggestions to help friends & family search for the perfect gift. So grab your credit card, tuck into a quick burrito, and follow my suggestions to make the holidays something you can sink your teeth into.
Scamper, do not walk, to the unassuming Olive Orchard Tasting Room in downtown Rehoboth’s First Street Station. This tiny shop is a rollercoaster of tastes, with fused & infused olive oils (the real thing – not that diluted stuff from the grocery store) and flavored balsamic vinegars. Owners Roy & Laura can put together a gift basket that will keep your beloved foodie tasting, marinating, flavoring and drizzling for months. My pick hits include the cinnamon pear dark balsamic, the basil olive oil, the lemongrass mint white balsamic, the blood orange olive oil and the dark chocolate balsamic. Drop in and taste around.
Around the corner, just east of Indigo Indian Restaurant, is the Spice & Tea Exchange. Owner Joy Quinn Whalen, her top-notch GM Dan Slagle and his team are experts on all they purvey. From pretty much every spice known to man (buy as little or as much as you want), to infused salts and sugars, from high-end cooking accessories (your foodie will love a Himalayan salt block for tableside sautéing or chilling) to pre-mixed seasonings … it’s all there. I love the combo pack of custom blends, each in its own grinder bottle so it stays fresh. You will not leave this place empty handed, I promise.
The Bronx-imported ingredients at Touch of Italy are so popular that they created a marketplace section so you can take home imported pastas, handmade mozzarella, fresh Italian breads, condiments and more. They can also help you create a (refrigerated) gift basket with TOI’s legendary mains like lasagna, Mamma’s meatballs, hot Italian sausage, braciole and that famous eggplant stack – not to mention the mouthwatering Italian cookies and pastries. TOI’s fresh marinara & bolognese sauces are also available - yet another reason NOT to buy your favorite foodie that necktie or scarf. Unless it’s red, of course.
Kitchen & Company near Lewes is a home cook’s amusement park. Make him or her smile with a couple of Silpat nonstick silicone mats, a half-dozen quarter-sheet aluminum pans (oh, they’ll find a use for them!) or a set of colorful “soft” cooking utensils to protect his or her go-to nonstick skillet. Just up the road in Lewes, caffeine lovers will be stimulated by an assortment of La Colombe coffees from Kaisy’s Delights. Pick up a French press while you’re at it and make YOUR gift the best part of waking up.
I love to give experiences as gifts. Snag your favorite dining aficionado an Eating Rehoboth tour gift card. Sip & bite at five of the region’s best restaurants plus a cool specialty shop – all in 3 hours! TripAdvisor rates the Eating Rehoboth experience as one of the most popular activities in Delaware. Simply go to EatingRehoboth.com to purchase a gift card.
Another fun tour is the Dogfish Head Brewery/Distillery in Milton. They offer a variety of tours that can be booked online at Dogfish.com/brewery/tasting-room/tours.
Rich Steele’s reservations-only Paella Feast at Café Azafran on the ocean block of Baltimore Avenue is a one-of-a-kind experience that will make any foodie hungry. Snap up a gift card from the restaurant and your recipient can use it for the entire Paella experience, minus gratuity and alcohol. It’s reasonably priced, and reservations may be had at 227-8100.
The next best thing to eating out is bringing the restaurant to you. You can count on personal chefs Jay Allen or Paul Cullen to bring it all into your favorite foodie’s home, prepare it, serve it and then clean it up. Cullen will even play guitar and sing during the professionally prepared feast. Jay Allen is at TheElegantPlate.com. Paul can be reached at www.paulcullen.rocks. They both offer gift certificates that can be redeemed after all the unwrapping, oohing and ahhing have subsided.
Is the target of your affections a BBQ lover? Create a potpourri of smoky taste with custom-made sauces and spice rubs available at Bethany Blues. These locally conceived, one-of-a-kind condiments are beautifully labeled and would look great in a gift basket. Throw in one of B’Blues’ cleverly designed shirts while you’re at it.
I’ll top this off with The Gift that Keeps on Giving: A subscription to the Cape Gazette! Why, you ask? Because my “Business of Eating” column is in there every Friday! I’ll fill your significant foodie in on new happenings, a bit of Rehoboth restaurant history and human interest stories that revolve around our vibrant culinary landscape. Add to the fun by grabbing a copy of Beach Paper every in-season Thursday for my “Steppin’ Up To The Plate” column. Your preferred gastronome will be up to date on everything food & drink in the Cape Region. What a tasteful way to say Happy Holidays!
Bob Yesbek’s column The Business of Eating appears every Friday in the Cape Gazette. Contact at byesbek@capegazette.com. For more fun and festive things to see, do (and eat!) in the Cape Region this holiday season, see Cape Gazette’s special publication ‘Tis the Season at bit.ly/2S3kAyK .
