Guide, Brunch, NYC
Nicole Dillon
Best Brunch Spots in New York City - Manhattan
Best Brunch Spots in New York City - Manhattan

food guide

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Holiday Foodie Gift Guide 2022

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Happy Holidays Fellow Foodies!

How’s your 2022 been so far? For me, this year has been filled with some of the best food events from covering new products and brands at Speciality Food Association - Summer Fancy Food in NYC, ExpoEast in Philly, and New York City Wine and Food Fest (NYCWFF); to interviewing 21 epic women in food and business on our Brunch & Learn Podcast.

This foodie holiday gift guide covers a little bit of everything for the food lover in yourself or family. Every year we include women owned food businesses, and this year we’re including must have cookbooks, gift sets, and kitchen gadgets.

Most products can easily be found in our Amazon Storefront (both current and past gift guides), or have linked them below!

Happy Holidays Foodies!

*chef’s kiss* - Nicole

Support & Shop - Women-Owned

  • Fly by Jing - Fly By Jing's is 100% all-natural and non-GMO fire Sichuan sauces and spices. Founded in 2018, Jing was inspired by her hometown flavors of Chengdu. Servings up Sichuan Chili Crisp, Zhong Sauce, and Pork Soup Dumplings as some pantry staple you must have.

  • Challah Dolly - NYC's favorite challah bread, created in Los Angeles. Dolly is reimagining traditional Jewish bread as a cool, modern, and necessary staple.

  • Happy Grub - Created for Parents by Parents. Squeezable Instant Pancake Mix kids love. Organic & Natural ingredients. Banana, Apple, Whole Wheat, & Buttermilk. Ashley Davies, the Founder of Happy Grub was a guest on our Brunch & Learn Podcast this year; we talked favorite flavors, stories behind the characters, and family meals. Take a listen to her episode here.

  • Jamie’s Farm New York - Granola with creative flavors and farm fresh ingredients Flavors include vanilla bean with sour cherries, chai streusel, and a collab with Partners Coffee on Coffee Soil Crunch.

  • Revival Foods - Craft Almond Butters - Founded by Rachel Klein, she buys straight from the farmer, using the freshest almonds that are dry roasted to perfection, and then ground into glorious butter for your tasting pleasure. My personal favorite flavor Raw Cacao Coconut.

  • Omsom - Japanese, Korean & Chinese classic sauces, aromatics, & seasoning for an authentic taste. Vanessa + Kim Pham, the sisters are the co-founders behind Omsom. Daughters of Vietnamese refugees, who grew up at their family’s kitchen counter, watching their Mẹ cook Viet dinners from scratch every night.

  • The Sister Yard - Unique recipe their Coconut Cold Brew combines sustainably-sourced coffee beans with 100% pure coconut water and fair-trade toasted coconut. Founded by two sisters born in Venezuela who called Miami home for 12 years before making the big move to New York City.

  • Queen Majesty Hot Sauce - Founded by New York local Erica Diehl, started in 2013 these hot sauces are vegan, organic and made without sugar or preservatives. Her hot sauces have been on the hot wing talk show “Hot Ones”. And flavors include: Scotch Bonnet & Ginger Hot Sauce, Jalapeño Tequila & Lime Hot Sauce, and Red Habanero & Black Coffee Hot Sauce.

  • Maie - Perfectly portioned wines, single serving, from Jaclyn Johnson & Neha Kumar delivered straight to your door. Sourcing the highest quality grapes from California.

2022 Cookbooks

  • The Cocktail Snob’s - Free Spirit Cocktails - Collection of 40 zero-alcohol recipes, easy-to-make drinks without the hangover. Author is Camille Wilson, a wonderful internet friend and guest on our veteran guest on our Brunch & Learn Podcast. Check out here new & first book and take a listen to her podcast episode here.

  • Home is Where the Eggs Are - Molly Yeh - Home Is Where the Eggs Are is a beautiful, intimate book full of food that’s best enjoyed in the comfort of sweatpants and third-day hair, by a beloved Food Network host and new mom living on a sugar beet farm in East Grand Forks, MN.

  • Brunch with Babs - Barbara Castello - If there was any food celebrity I’d like to meet it would be fellow brunch lover Babs. Her instagram is my favorite, her party and life hacks are next level. This one is on our wish list. The cookbook covers all of the holiday recipes and motherly advice you need to make every celebration special.

  • Cook This Book - Molly Baz - Molly Baz is an American chef and food writer. She was a senior food editor at Bon Appétit magazine and appeared frequently in videos for the magazine's YouTube channel before leaving in 2020. Her cookbook is a staple, with simple yet delicious recipes. Her Poached Chicken over Brothy Rice with Cilantro Scallion Sauce is my go-to, warm and an extremely comforting dish.

  • GILMORE GIRL FANS - There’s two great cookbooks out there: Eat Like a Gilmore by Kristi Carlson and Gilmore Girls: The Official Cookbook by Elena Craig - Coffee, muffins, Santa pancakes, and Luke’s Diner dishes…sign me up.

  • Eating Out Loud - Eden Grinshpan - Eden is a chef, food personality, current host of Top Chef Canada. This cookbook is a playful new take on Middle Eastern cuisine with more than 100 fresh, flavorful recipes. The Sesame Schnitzel Sandwich with Harissa Honey and Tartar Slaw is my FAVORITE dish to make out of this cookbook.

Food Gift Sets

  • Knack Shops - Let’s Do Brunch Gift Set or Sunday Morning Pancakes - Savor the sleepy Sunday morning ritual of pancakes and coffee with is brunch gift set. Includes cookbook Let's Brunch by Belinda Smith-Sullivan, Belle Epicurean Classic Blueberry Scone Mix, Chicago French Press coffee, and Girl Meets Dirt preserves.

  • Small Packages - In case you missed it, on the Brunch and Learn Podcast we interviewed Small Packages CEO Julie Schechter on the “Power of Gift Giving”. Not only do they have a great selection of curated gift and care packages for any occasion but they are launching this fall a Women in Food box.

    The box comes in two sizes: $55 and $110. As long as you order by December 14th, it will arrive in time for Christmas! The box features some of our favorite women-owned brands: Brightland, Fly by Jing, and Omsom.

  • Stonewall Kitchen - Brunch Gift Basket - A variety of tasty treats to enjoy in a beautifully crafted Nantucket-style basket. It’s the perfect brunch set - with scone mix, Bloody Mary mixers, pancake mix, syrups, and jams. Sign me us for their Mimosa Jam!

  • Mantry - Food subscription-based gifts for men, comes in 1-, 3-, or 6-month options.

Gadgets for the Kitchen

  • Plant Terrarium with Wooden Stand - Retro wooden plant propagation station glass for your kitchen, perfect for growing houseplants.

  • East Fork Pottery - Wide variety of home goods, pottery, plates, mugs, cookware, and more. Beautiful, Durable, Stoneware Made In Blue Ridge Mountains.

  • Hadley & Bennet Knife Set - Best known for their epic aprons (and woman-owned), H&B recently launched this year a new knife set, durable and beautifully designed for both the home and professional chef.

  • Papaya - Resuseable Paper Towels -The Reusable Paper Towel that replaces 17 rolls. Proving size doesn’t matter after all. All Natural. 100% Compostable.

  • Joseph Joseph Cutting Board - Folio™ makes the food-prep process more efficient and enjoyable. The chopping board set includes four color-coded boards with knife-friendly, textured surfaces and non-slip grip feet for safer slicing, chopping and dicing.

Explore Previous Year’s Guides

Winter Food Styling and Props Guide

Hey fellow food artists, photographers, and stylists!

I absolutely love props when it comes to food styling, it’s my favorite part of the process. It allows me to be creative and think outside the box while elevating a photo. Now that we are in full blown holiday season content creation, here’s a list of some of my picks for props for food styling all of your winter themed content.

  1. Holly Plant - Got this at my local farm for $5. This just screams holidays for me, I can’t wait to use it in a photo.

  2. Michael’s: Reindeer Pick Topper Set and Merry Christmas Topper Set - Both were $1.19/each. Think these would be great for a cheese board photo and really easy for guests to pick up their favorite cheeses, meats, or olive snacks.

  3. Michael’s: Dried Orange Slices - On Sale for $5. I feel like I could use these for food styling all year round.

  4. Trader Joe’s Cookie Mug Hangers - $2.49 each

  5. Trader Joe’s Decked Out Tree Cookies - $2.49 each

  6. Fancy Mug Marshmallows: I got these from Target but have also seen them at Sur la Table and Starbucks. Great for a hot chocolate photo shot.

  7. Fresh Herbs: Sage and Rosemary

  8. Foliage: Twigs and pine from a Christmas Tree/Christmas Tree Farm, Pinecones

  9. Spices:

    • Star Anise: (Got this small packet at Shoprite for $1, they also have cinnamon sticks for a $1).

    • Cinnamon Sticks: I had already picked up some cinnamon sticks from Trader Joe’s but think they were a few dollars. Always great in drinks or to style.

  10. Holiday Sprinkles… always…. Can find fun ones at Target, Home Goods, Walmart.

  11. Fruits: Whole Cranberries, Pomegranate Seeds

  12. Twinkle Lights: Can find these cheap at Michael’s or Target adds a bit of sparkle to your photos.

Food Tour: Nashville, Tennessee - 12th Street South

On another adventure with Secret Food Tours, we took to the 12th Street South area of Nashville, Tennessee. This area is about a 10 minute drive from downtown and was even more up and coming then when I had visited 6 years ago.

Our first stop on our food tour was Taqueria Del Sol where we had their Memphis Taco with pulled pork, bbq sauce and jalapeño coleslaw. Here our guide explained a few of the regional differences in BBQ. Memphis has more of a tomato based sauce. Rest of Tennessee has more of a vinegar tomato base. Texas more of a dry rub where meat is king and sauces are secondary. Kansas City doing their own thing where they have a thick, sweet molasses and tomato based sauces.

Memphis Taco at Taqueria Del Sol

Memphis Taco at Taqueria Del Sol

Our next stop on the tour was to visit Christie’s Cookies. Home of the famous Doubletree Cookies. Obsessed with their flavors and napkins y’all!

Next was a local Tennessee specialty dish, Hot Chicken at Edley’s BBQ. Made of fried chicken breast, thigh, or wings that has been marinated in assortment of spices and heat. I don’t tend to like spicy things but this was delicious! Our tour guide also told us the secret to controling your taste buds and it isn’t milk… Milk has acidity to it and can actually make the heat worse. Soda is too sweet and carbonated. The best way to beat the heat is with… Southern Sweet Tea! I can vouch for this, because it really did help my mouth out instantly.

While we walked from one spot to the next we also stopped and the “I Believe in Nashville” mural and a mural of all the TN state wildlife native to the area including the construction cranes.

BurgerUp was the next stop for some mac and cheese balls, fried pickles, and potato skins. We did not have a burger, but this restaurant sources their menu from local farms practicing sustainability and humane treatment of animals. Much of their beef comes from local farmers in Franklin, TN.

We were then off to Las Paletas, a frozen treat similar to an ice pop, made with fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts. Our tour guide said the sisters and owners moved to Nashville and couldn’t find the same tasty treat from Mexico and wanted to share a bit of their culture with the community, causing them to build a business here in 12th Street South.

Finally we took a long walk over to Martin’s BBQ and on the way got to pass by Sun Records.

At Martin’s we have smoked turkey and broccoli salad. My husband and I had gone to another Martin’s location closer to Vanderbilt and was a little underwhelmed with the hype of their BBQ. What I do like about this place is they give you free mini chocolate Moon Pies and the turkey was very juicy.

Overall, our tour guide was incredible and very knowledgeable about the area and cuisine. We tried a lot of things I wouldn’t have known about or would have gone to on my own. I learned a ton about BBQ, sweet tea is the cure, my favorite hotel cookie came from Nashville, and construction cranes are Nashville’s state bird. (The more you know… 🌈)

As usual Secret Food Tours did not disappoint!

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