The ultimate holiday gift guide for DC-area foodies
The District isn’t just the nation’s capital — it’s a food lover’s paradise packed with creative chefs, mixologists and hot spots that rival any major city. If you’ve got a foodie in your life, there’s no better way to spread holiday cheer than with gifts inspired by or sourced in D.C.
This gift guide is sure to delight all tastes, whether that be a quirky aunt who is obsessed with perfecting her pizza dough, a boyfriend who is a cocktail enthusiast eager to concoct the next best Instagram-worthy drink, or a coworker who loves to support their neighborhood eatery by sporting their wearable merch.
From DIY pizza and pasta kits to cookbooks that let you recreate iconic dishes from your favorite spots, these picks are as unique as the city’s dining scene. This isn’t your average gift guide — so dig in for a celebration of all things delicious and distinctly D.C.
Gifts for home cooks
Centrolina’s pasta kits
Bring the Italian delights from Chef Amy Brandwein’s menu at Centrolina to your home with these pasta kits. Priced at $175, this kit includes six artisanal hand-rolled pastas, including potato gnocchi, pistachio fettuccine, plus red wine and truffle tagliolini. Sauces are included, such as forest mushroom ragu, white Bolognese and white and black truffle butter. This kit ships nationwide.
Mah-Ze-Dahr’s Bake-at-Home sets
Make baking for friends and company easy with these bake-at-home sets from the luxury bakery Mah-Ze-Dahr. Enjoy cinnamon rolls, dark chocolate brownies, dried cherry scones, croissants and more with prices that range from $36 to $90. Select items are available in store.
Tonari’s pizza kits
Make pizza making extra easy and extra delicious by purchasing Tonari’s Detroit-style pizza kits. There are different options available, such as a “Mentaiko & Corn Kit,” which includes a choice of frozen raw dough or parbaked pizza bread, plus all the necessary toppings, such as corn, corn sauce, Kewpie mentaiko cream and brick cheese. The “Tonari Classic Kit” removes the corn, corn sauce and Kewpie mentaiko cream and subs in umeboshi pizza sauce. The former kit costs $26.50, while the latter can be had for $20.26 with pepperoni for an extra $4. A Detroit-style pizza pan can also be purchased for $42. The kits are available for pick up or delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Immigrant Food’s holiday gift basket
Able to serve four to six people, this curated holiday gift basket is chock full of indulgent sweets, seasonings and condiments and is ideal for the significant other who is open to delicious and perhaps unfamiliar delights. This basket includes a wide variety of treats, including Ras el Hanout granola, alfajores, Thai basil pesto, roasted banana ketchup and budin, which is a classic Puerto Rican bread pudding dessert. The basket is available for purchase for $95 and is available for pickup every Tuesday in December at Immigrant Food’s Planet Word and Ballston, Virginia, locations with a 48-hour preorder.
Gifts for wannabe mixologists
Lapis and Lapop’s cocktail kits
Available for in-person purchase at the Adams Morgan restaurant and underground bar, the cocktail kits at Lapis and Lapop are a great choice for the person in your life who is working on upgrading their at-home bar. The kits are Afghan-inspired, containing house-made syrups and bitters utilizing flavors such as cardamom, masala and saffron. Recipes and instructions are included with the kit.
Salt & Sundry’s engraved cocktail glasses
Rep your local pride with these hand-engraved rocks glasses as a way to honor D.C. Each glass is sold individually, dishwasher safe, and holds enough for a 10-ounce drink. The $30 glasses are made exclusively for Salt & Sundry by New York City-based Love & Victory.
Gifts for the ravenous
The Dabney’s “Dabnog”
This twist on the classic eggnog drink is being carefully crafted from MICHELIN-star restaurant The Dabney just in time for the holidays. The 32-ounce drink contains bourbon, rye, Madeira, black rum and sorghum molasses, enhanced with premium mid-Atlantic eggs and dairy. The drink is sold via Table22 at $50 for one or three for $140.
Lutèce’s Monthly Wine Club
Beef up your wine collection with help from Georgetown’s acclaimed Lutèce. The French bistro’s wine club is available for local D.C. and Virginia delivery from Table22 for $80 per month. Those ready to be welcomed into the world of wine can expect two bottles of seasonal selections per month with additional perks, such as written out tasting notes from the sommelier, the inside scoop about new arrivals of the latest and greatest wines and the opportunity to be invited to members-only wine events at Lutèce.
Shop Made in DC’s local spice gift box
For more tasty treats, Shop Made in D.C. has a gift box that is locally-curated and perfectly seasonal. This box includes pumpkin spice syrup, a Biscoff cookie chocolate bar, a pumpkin spice candle, a spiced brookie and a mini pumpkin treasure bag, all sourced from local producers. The box costs $68 and is available for shipping or pickup in the store’s Georgetown location.
Each Peach Market’s gift collection
For $75, this gift collection gathers some of the best products from Mt. Pleasant’s Each Peach market in one box. Gift givers can expect high-quality olive oil, coffee and other homemade goods. Contents may vary depending on availability and seasonality. Preorders must be made 48 hours or more in advance.
Gifts for the biggest fans
Oyster Oyster’s and Terratela’s T-shirts made from food scraps
Yes, you read that correctly. In a stunningly sustainable move, D.C. restaurant Oyster Oyster is collaborating with Terratela to sell a limited-edition T-shirt made from discarded soybean hulls with 10% of all sales going to a selected charity. The design is a unique artwork inspired by the restaurant menu and printed using water-based inks in Brooklyn. Each T-shirt costs $108 with sizes available from small up to XXL.
Call Your Mother’s beanie
If you know someone who loves latkes a lot-ka — as well as all the other breakfast items on Call Your Mother’s menu — consider gifting this comfy, cozy beanie. The “Jew-ish deli” is selling this item for $28 each.
Ivy & Coney’s hoodie
Show your love to the Shaw bar Ivy & Coney with this gray sweatshirt, designed with two bottle caps on top. Priced at $36, the item is available in sizes from small up to XXXL.
Immigrant Food’s tote bags
With the message “Immigrants Make America Great” emblazoned on top, this $15 tote bag is available for purchase via Toast. The restaurant’s signature tagline is also available on gray baseball hats for $25, black long sleeve shirts for $25 and black short sleeve shirts for $20.
Gifts for those in search of inspiration
If you or someone you know has ever wanted to recreate a dish from a local restaurant, there are ways to do so. A cookbook can provide all the tips and methods to doing just that. For those in search of cookbooks from local chefs or restaurants, here is a quick list to consider:
- “Maydan: Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond,” by Rose Previte and Marah Stets
- “Zaytinya: Delicious Mediterranean Dishes from Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon,” by José Andrés
- “Sweet Home Café Cookbook,” from the National Museum of African American History and Culture
- “Rasika: Flavors of India,” from Ashok Bajaj, Vikram Sunderam and David Hagedorn
- “Washington, D.C. Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes From The Nation’s Capital,” from Beth Kanter