The San Francisco Holiday Gift Guide for Food Lovers 2015

The scent of ethically raised birds, vegan baked goods, and gluten-free side dishes is in the air. That's right. It's holiday time in the Bay Area and you're already a little late to that shopping list. Here to make your life easier: The San Francisco Holiday Gift Guide for Food Lovers. Using similar methods to our most beloved restaurants, all of the featured products are locally made or inspired.

SWEETS

Sugar with an Attitude

The cruffin bakers over at Mr. Holmes Bakehouse paired their classic almond-fruit granola (studded with freeze-dried milk clusters) with three jars full of spreadable "donut fillings" that put regular jam to shame. There is salted caramel, strawberry Bay leaf, and Ferrero Rocher (a.k.a. fancy Nutella). Slather on toast, just-baked cookies, or dollop atop ice cream. Everything comes in a box with the brand's Insta-famous slogan — "I got baked in San Francisco" in classy gold letters. $30; purchase at Mr. Holmes Bakehouse.

spirits

Gin with a Local Spin

Treasure Island's Raff Distillerie uses 100% California grapes as the base for this gin inspired by Bummer & Lazarus, two real stray dogs that became local celebrities in the San Francisco of the mid-1800s due to their keen ability to catch and kill rats. When Lazarus died, 30,000 people attended the funeral. Now you and yours can pay homage with this earthy, citrusy, and spicy gin. $35; purchase at Cask, The Jug Shop, or mail order here.

Atypical Absinthe

Also from Raff, this traditional absinthe is made with wormwood sourced from 30 miles outside of Pontarlier, France, the home of absinthe. Subtle and savory, it's named for Joshua Norton, the famous San Francisco vagabond credited with proposing the Bay Bridge and the Transbay Tunnel. 750 ml $63.99; purchase at Cask, The Jug Shop or here.

A Bottle of Rhum

Raff's latest creation, this Barbary Coast Rhum Agricole gets its funky terroir from fermented Columbian sugarcane. It'll take your holiday daiquiri game to new heights. $39.90; purchase at Cask or The Jug Shop.

San Francisco Spirit

Made locally with 12 semi-secret ingredients, including rhubarb, bay leaf, cinnamon and orange peel, the most notable thing about this Fernet is its lower viscosity and sugar content when you compare it to the omnipresent Fernet-Branca. The label riffs on a Barbary Coast icon and all the ingredients are non-GMO, making this the most San Francisco-appropriate Fernet out there. $39.99; purchase at The Jug Shop or Cask.

Home

Custom Cutlery

Forged in Thiers, France and finished with handles carved from California wood, these handmade Million and Clark knives stand out next to even the best of the mass-produced creations from Wustof, Shun, and the like. They're protected for your gifting purposes in a 100% felted wool sheath. $130-$205, purchase at SHED or the company website.

Books

This is Camino

For the ambitious home cook, this book takes the cooking philosophies and methodologies of Oakland's pean to fire cookery Camino and attempts to translate them for mere mortals. Make the crispy flatbread and slow-cooked duck leg with prunes and never look at your backyard grill the same way again. $35; purchase a signed copy from Omnivore Books here.

Near & Far

Award-winning San Francisco-based writer and 101 Cookbooks blogger Heidi Swanson translates her immersive aesthetic to this collection of vegetarian recipes accompanied by stories from Swanson's home life and travels through Morocco, Japan, and Italy. $29.99; purchase a signed copy from Omnivore Books here.

Finding Yourself in the Kitchen

Zen priest and former San Francisco Zen Center cook Dana Velden crafted this reflection on the lessons you can learn in the kitchen. The process of letting dough rise teaches us to take time to breath and rest, for example. But you don't have to cook: the mere act of reading this book is meditative. $24.99; purchase a signed copy from Omnivore Books here.

Caffeine

Beer

Experiences

Explore Eater's National 2015 Holiday Gift Guide