5 Great Gifts for Rhode Island Food Lovers
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Do you have a food lover on your gift list this year? We thought so! We have many ourselves. Each year we try to find interesting and delicious gifts for those gourmands on your Christmas list and, this year, we came back with these five.
Dave's Coffee Syrup, Charlestown (but...really...all over)
For true Rhode Islanders there are a few flavors that are necessary to the recipe of who we are. One of those flavors is coffee. It begins, innocently, when we are kids. Coffee ice cream. Coffee milk. Coffee. It's like a rite of passage around here. And then along came Dave's Coffee Syrup to send us--happily--running back to childhood. This is not your grandma's coffee syrup. This is craft roasted. This is cold brewed. This is pretty perfect! They have standard, vanilla, mocha and even decaf for those concerned. It ships well--as our pipeline to the West Coast can attest. We feel like we're in an episode of "Breaking Bad"--so send it to those who long for a taste of home! It's available at better supermarkets around the state or at http://www.davescoffeestore.com/
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTTour of Newport Storm/Thomas Tew Rum, Newport
One of our true gems in Rhode Island food and drink is Coastal Extreme Brewery in Newport. They make the excellent Newport Storm beer and also distill Thomas Tew Rum. What most people don't know is that, every day except Tuesday, they offer guided brewery--or distillery--tours at 3 pm. And yes...those include tastings! Now, if you want to tour on your own, you can also do unguided tours whenever they are open, but we prefer the knowledge you get from the guides. You can do tastings of beer, rum or both. It's a fun trip into the mind of a brewer. 293 J.T. Connell Rd. 849-9232, http://www.newportstorm.com/
Gift Certificate to Persimmon Provisions, Barrington
One of the fastest ways to improve your holiday party's Yelp rating is to upgrade your ingredients. One of our favorite ways to raise the bar on dinner is to visit Chef Champe Speidel and his talented team at Persimmon Provisions. Your friends and family will instantly notice that you now have the power (and knowledge) of the Persimmon brand behind it. You can expect wide eyes when they taste the duck-fat-roasted potatoes. "Ooh"s when they taste the grass-fed beef. And "Aah"s when they realize that you spoke to some pros who helped you take their available ingredients and run with them. 338 County Rd. 337-5885, http://www.persimmonprovisions.com/
Cooking School at Pot au Feu, Providence
This is the best "ulterior motive" Christmas gift you could give. Do you have a budding home cook looking to take it to the next level? This Christmas, give them the gift that keeps on giving, and send them to one of Pot au Feu's cooking classes. The gift recipient gets a full day in the professional kitchen at the Pot; a personalized chef coat and what amounts to an all day crash course in food and wine. This is more like a golf lesson as it's very hands-on. They will help you prepare a five-course meal with wine pairings and you get to invite three guests to come and enjoy it. But beware. The diners become your graders and they decide if you graduate. 44 Custom House St. 273-8953, www. potaufeu.businesscatalyst.com
Gift Certificate to Newport Gourmet Tours
Imagine roaming the streets of our fair city while meeting some of the city's top chefs and mixologisits and tasting their creations. Now, sprinkle in some local history along the way and you have the idea behind Newport Gourmet Tours. Here's the rub though...you have to endure your intrepid writers as tour guides. (We promise it won't be too painful!) This tour was named Top Food Tour in New England by Yankee Magazine this past summer. We offer you five stops in about two hours with food--and cocktails!--at every stop. Call us at 401-787-4058 or email us at [email protected]
Related Slideshow: 6 Delicious New England Bakeries
The Daily Meal has compiled a list of America's 50 Best Bakeries; which New England hotspots made the list?
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