If you ever see me on the streets of New York City, I’ll most likely wear one of my favorite t-shirts: It’s by Roberta in Brooklyn, and it has the restaurant’s name in the style of a death-metal band decorated with skulls, a sword and, of course, a pizza.
I cherish that shirt as much as I cherish any band t-shirt. Restaurants are a great place to find can’t-have-this-where gifts for your restaurant-loving friends and family. Just in time for the holidays, I’ve put together a Where to Eat gift guide that will make you a gift giving star.
What to wear
It’s no secret that some of the city’s best merchandise comes from it organizations of Jewish food. Zabar’s, Katz’s, and Russ & Daughters all have a wide selection of worthy gifts. But I want to admit B&F Milk, the 84-year-old kosher vegetarian restaurant in the East Village, for really injecting humor into its merchandise with the words “Challah! Por Favor clothing”, including hats, overalls, baby shirts and sweatshirts (from $10). Grab one after you’ve polished a plate of challah French toast.
If you have any Williamsburg fanatics in your life who come to Cafe Balearica every Saturday night, surprise them with Fini Pizza’s new black satin bomber jacket ($110, available in store and online). Or if they visit often Cafe Erzulie on Jazz Night for a goat toast, give them the gift of one of the restaurant’s offerings Black rainbow shirt ($40), can be ordered online and received later.
Restaurant-Gifts Adjacent
Let’s say you just went to a Japanese restaurant Rule of thirds in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and you’re going for a walk after brunch or after dinner. Then you’ll definitely want to pop into the restaurant’s sake shop, Sake Bin Binbecause I haven’t stopped thinking about it bag of four bottles ($40) since they introduced it in the summer. It’s huge and has a lovely illustration of a cat clutching a bottle of sake, and — take this — it zips! It zips!
Another roundabout way to give gifts: If you get the chance to visit a restaurant with a great tasting menu sea slug industry, you’ve probably seen one of those colorful nudes in the bathroom. Those paintings come from Amanda Geller – @paint.and.nip on Instagram — a bartender at Pasquale Jones and Bar Pasquale who also sells prints on Etsy (from $69) and receives a commission. Your art collector friends and family will thank you.
what to send?
Perhaps the recipient of your large sum doesn’t live within the city limits. Does not matter. I have a very, very good gift you can send them: a box of cookies from Vietnamese bakery Friend that I can’t have enough. Each box ($45) contains 28 beautiful butter cookies filled with coconut pandan leaves, ube black sesame, cacao tamarind nibs, and crunchy coffee flavors, and they will ship by December 19.
Whatever you decide to give your family and friends, there’s always the option of treating them to dinner. Most restaurants offer gift cards, and buying one (or three) of a gift card is like a long-term investment for an unforgettable meal. Happy holidays!
In other news…
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This week, Pete Wells consider Koloman, an Austrian-influenced restaurant from Austrian chef Markus Glocker at the Ace Hotel in NoMad. The excellence of the food makes up for the shortcomings of the service, he writes.
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open: Rich Torrisi’s Main food group fame unfolds Bars & Restaurants Torrisi on Thursday in SoHo. Welcome Greenpoint Brooklyn House, a new French-Japanese tasting menu restaurant on Norman Avenue. And, for all things, Greenwich Village’s Bao Tea House there’s a new bigger restaurant on Mulberry and Hester Streets.
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More than a year after a Times investigation was widely discovered evidence of verbal and sexual harassment get employees to file class action lawsuits, Willows . Inn has closed permanently, Julia Moskin reported.
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What is even a pub? Our wine critic Eric Asimov searched for the answer in my latest column. One thing is clear: New York City has some very good ones.
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In a profile by Korsha Wilson, California chef Tanya Holland discussed her latest cookbook, “california soul,” and her life after her Oakland, Calif., restaurant Brown Sugar Kitchen.
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