Metro Detroit is home to some of the coolest, funkiest food purveyors in the country. Why wouldn't you pass along some locally made sweets (or olive oil) to everyone on your list?
Sister Pie, Rock City Eatery,
Achatz, Grand Traverse Pie, Sweetbird Kitchen Pie Crust Crumbles
My, oh my, metro Detroit has a lot of pies. There are plenty of options to satisfy any cravings — from savory to decadent sweet pies with crumbly, buttery crusts. ($7.99-$32)
sisterpie.com; rockcityeatery.com; achatzpies.com; gtpie.com
Bon Bon Bon
Bon Bon Bon mixes local ingredients with artistic ingenuity. The flavors range from classically chocolatey to bizarre and exotic like Monte Cristo (raspberry jam, Swiss and gouda cheese, ganache, croissant sliver, candied ham, powdered sugar, dark chocolate shell) or yogurt parfait (raspberry, white chocolate, and ganache with layers of toasted granola). ($3-$60)
11360 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-236-5581; bonbonbon.com
Sanders hot fudge
Sanders holds a special spot in the hearts of Michiganders, and it offers gift baskets that hold everything from hot fudge topping to chocolate covered potato chips to popcorn. ($6.99 for shells)
Beau Bien Fine Foods
The Eastern Market producer and shop specializes in sweet and savory artisan jams, fruit preserves, chutneys, and mustards. Check out highlights like raspberry cacao preserves, herbed red onion marmalade, Michigan apple mustard, and cherry star anise preserves.
2478 Riopelle St., Detroit; 313-800-1363; beaubienfinefoods.com
Ackroyd's Scottish Bakery
Ackroyd's is your go-to for traditional, savory Scottish baked goods and specialty meats — from meat pies to haggis. ($5-$32)
25566 Five Mile Road, Redford Charter Twp.; 313-532-1181; ackroydsbakery.com
Pete's Chocolate Co.
Sold through retailers and at the Eastern Market, or call 313-288-9046 for pricing on special orders. This independently owned company makes small batch chocolates, handmade truffles, and hot cocoa mix. Pete's made it's mark on Detroit's exciting craft chocolate scene with hand-rolled delicacies in many rich and inventive flavors like rosemary sea salt, cinnamon cayenne, and white chocolate coconut curry.
313-288-9046; peteschocolate.com
Morley Candy
Best known for their chocolate confections and peanut butter blocks, Morley's is a hometown favorite in Clinton Township. Stop by to pick up some holiday treats, and even go on a tour of their chocolate factory. ($3.50-$40) Savory
Pinconning Cheese Co.
The Pinconning Cheese Company is offering a variety of Michigan-made cheeses and meats that come in mix-and-match gift boxes. ($12.99-$74.99)
Little Caesars Pizza Kits
Anyone can be a Little Caesar's pizza chef with kits that allow for home preparation of its deep dish, thin crust, and personal pizzas, as well as the Detroit-born pizza empire's other yummy pizzas and breadsticks. ($21-$24)
McClure's combo pack
With mix-and-match spears, chips, and bloody mary mix combo packs, McClure's is there to satisfy the pickle prince(ss) in your life. ($40 for a four-pack, $99 for a 12-pack)
American Coney Island kit
Perfect for the Detroit expat who misses their favorite regional dish. American Coney Island kits allow your friends and loved ones to assemble the ingredients right in their kitchen and dig into a sloppy dog. ($59.99 in some states, $69.99 in most states)
White Pine Coffee
The Michigan Micro-roastery will set up shop at the Rust Belt Market in downtown Ferndale for the 10 days preceding Christmas. This is the spot for single source beans from the world's best coffee growing nations. Better yet, White Pine offers the Homesteader Program, which is essentially a coffee-of-the-month club in which the company delivers beans to your giftee's door throughout 2018.
Qahwah House
Yemen is regarded as the birthplace of coffee and the nation's beans are considered to be some of the world's best. But there are relatively few farms so the beans are difficult to find in the U.S., and they can trade for up to $240 per pound. Fortunately, the owners of Dearborn's Qahwah House also own a centuries-old coffee farm in Yemen, thus you can surprise the coffee nerd in your life with high grade Yemeni beans for $25 per pound.
6655 Schaefer Rd., Dearborn; 313-908-4521
Tea from La Bohème
La Bohème opened in Detroit "to introduce tea culture" to the city and offers a wide variety of teas available from the famous Le Palais des Thés tea company. The latter trained La Bohème's owners to teach others about tea, so you'll be in good hands even if you aren't a tea aficionado. ($11-$30)
8100 Kercheval Ave., Detroit; 313-926-6240
Germack Pistachio Co.
Germack is best known for its nuts but is also one of Detroit's most formidable coffee roasters. Buy a bag for as little as $8, or check out a gift basket for $24.99. ($8-$24.99)
Detroit Bold Coffee Co.
Detroit Bold Coffee's affordable grinds come in a range of blends like Nightmare Black or Christmas Roast, and can be purchased in bags, single serve cups, or gift packages from large retailers like Meijer. ($6.99-$18.99)
Zingerman Weekender basket/Sandwich kit
The Zingermans food empire is built on a corned beef foundation, but the company's fresh food is hard to come by outside of southeast Michigan. Send your out-of-state loved one a Classic Corned Beef Reuben sandwich kit which comes stocked with Jewish rye (Pumpernickel in Brooklyn Reuben), sliced deli meat, freshly sliced Emmentaler Swiss cheese, Zingerman's potato chips, coleslaw, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, garlicky pickles, and Magic Brownie Bites. ($75-$175)
zingermans.com Booze
House of Pure Vin
The Grand Cru Wine Club membership gets its members and guests four private tastings in 2018 that includes wines not otherwise available at the shop, as well as a 20 percent discount on the chic Woodward Avenue store's bottles. ($30)
Two James
Two James established itself as the standard in Detroit distilling with bottles like 28 Island Vodka or 10 Year Grass Widow Cask Strength Reserve. But perhaps the best option for the Detroit-lover in your life is the psychedelic absinthe, which is distilled with wormwood, fennel, green anise, and over 100 pounds of botanicals "to create a spirit that has an unfathomable depth of flavor and complexity. Colored with peppermint, hyssop, and nettle to produce a beautiful rich earthy green color." ($29.99-$129.00)
Speciation Artisan Ales and Transient Artisan Ales
For the most dedicated of beer nerds, check out Speciation and Transient Artisan Ales, which are producing what many consider to be Michigan's most sought after beers. They're next to impossible to find in beer shops in metro Detroit because they sell out so quickly, so you'll have to take a trip to their Grand Rapids area breweries to retrieve the bottles. Bottles are only available for sale on certain weekend days, so check the company's site for more details.
speciationartisanales.com; transientartisanales.com
Booze & Brews
Build-Your-Own six-pack from Discount Drinks (Wyandotte) or 8 Degrees Plato (Detroit and Ferndale). Mix and match hard-to-find and your favorite craft brews from two of metro Detroit's finer craft beer purveyors.
discountdrinksetc.com; 8degreesplato.com
Pop up tickets
The much-loved Dr. Sushi pop up on Jan. 5 at Revolver in Hamtramck with one of its best menus, which is saying something. The $45 per ticket, five-course pop up includes smoked miso soup with nukazuke; salmon nigiri with garlic misozuke and Sichuan peppercorn cured salmon nigiri; Hosomaki flight of assorted rolled sushi; ngyutan (Japanese style beef tongue); and matcha donut.
https://www.revolverhamtramck.com/
