Illustration by Lille Allen Presents for food lovers made with love in D.C. ‘Tis the season for gifting something delicious. Restaurant gift cards are always appreciated during the holidays, but your favorite local chefs, artisans, distillers, and shoppy-shop brands have even more to offer to make your loved ones smile during the season of giving. Read on for Eater D.C.’s curated guide to the best sweets, cookbooks, tasty sips, meal prep kits, clothing, and more from D.C.-area businesses. Wolfgang Puck Estate Truffles Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Puck sends out truffles for the holidays. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has roots in the District, with his upscale CUT steakhouse tucked inside Georgetown’s Rosewood hotel. Puck has rolled out a new product line just in time for the holidays: Oversized chocolate truffles that are twice as big as the average sweet. Puck’s been making these truffles for starry events like the Oscars, but this is the first time they’re available to the public. Wolfgang Puck’s Estate Truffles are available in flavors like dark red velvet, dark espresso, and milk bananas Foster. Taco Bamba Mezcal Greg Powers Taco Bamba now sells its own mezcal. The team at local taqueria chain Taco Bamba unleashed a line of mezcals, made in collaboration with distilleries in Mexico. Agave lovers can choose between two different bottles available for purchase at the City Ridge location, one from Rey Campero and the other by Cinco Sentidos. It’s a labor of love for chef Victor Albisu and Taco Bamba beverage director Amin Seddiq: for the Rey Campero bottle, they worked directly with maestro mezcalero Vicente Sanchez Parada to create a mezcal with notes of roasted pineapple and light smoke with a citrus finish. Bodega Bakes Cookbook Bodega Bakes The Bodega Bakes cookbook. D.C.’s James Beard–nominated pastry chef and Bakers Against Racism activist Paola Velez released a cookbook this fall featuring more than 100 recipes for tortas, cookies, brownies, frozen treats, and more sweets influenced by her Dominican heritage and her New York City childhood. In Bodega Bakes, readers can whip up easy treats like two-ingredient creamy ice pops or more complicated projects, like a guava-and-cheese turnover. Snag this colorful book filled with even more vibrant confections for the baker in your life. Centrolina Pasta Kit Centrolina Cook Centrolina’s freshly made pastas at home. For the ultimate pasta night in, get an assist from Amy Brandwein, owner of popular downtown Italian restaurant and market Centrolina. The kit includes six hand-rolled pastas — including potato gnocchi, pistachio fettuccine, and red wine and truffle tagliolini — as well as a big hunk of Parmigiano and three sauces, including forest mushroom ragu. The kit ships nationwide. Oyster Oyster SoyFibe T-shirt Terratela Oyster Oyster teamed up with Terratela to make a graphic tee. James Beard Award-winning chef Rob Rubba’s acclaimed tasting pad in Shaw is known for its commitment to sustainability. So it makes sense that even its branded T-shirt would repurpose food waste. Michelin-starred Oyster Oyster collaborated with sustainable fashion brand Terratela to create a shirt made out of discarded soybean hulls. The design takes tips from its vegetarian menu and is printed in Brooklyn using water-based inks. Membership to Winelair Rey Lopez/Eater DC The sleek locker room inside Winelair. Need an ultra-luxurious gift for that oenophile who has everything? A membership at this West End’s wine-vault-slash-bar would be a real treat. Winelair offers fancy personal wine lockers, access to a team of staff sommeliers, and many more perks. A big new draw is the addition of D.C. chefs and Anju founders Scott Drewno and Danny Lee at the helm in the kitchen. DMV Matchbooks Print DMV Matchbooks Lighten up a party with custom art from DMV Matchbooks. Alexandria artist Laurel Prucha Moran started painting watercolor matchbooks to celebrate neighborhood restaurants during the pandemic. She’s since created more than 400 whimsical matchbooks commemorating beloved restaurants and bars across the DMV and beyond. Choose a 4-by-6-inch fine art print of a single restaurant for $20, with a huge amount of local options available — from Andy’s Pizza to Zaytina. Or you can pick your favorite places from those available on the DMV Matchbooks website to collage together for a custom piece of art representing all your local hangouts. Ellē Cat Sweatshirt Ellē Ellē’s comfy, cat-themed sweatshirts. Mount Pleasant’s all-day cafe Ellē embraces its cute cat obsession for the holidays with a cheeky new sweatshirt. More Ellē merch includes a tote in the same pattern ($25), a blue sweatshirt emblazoned with the restaurant’s name in the style of a similarly named magazine, and a cat-themed Miir tumbler ($30). Note: The tumbler will be available in two weeks and the cat sweatshirt will be available right before Thanksgiving. Tea Lovers’ Holiday Gift Pack Evangeline Pergantis Just Ice Tea’s holiday gift pack. Top Chef star Spike Mendelsohn teamed up with fellow D.C. entrepreneur Seth Goldman to debut Just Ice Tea in 2022. The Fair Trade-certified tea is sourced from Mozambique and grown without any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, or fertilizers. Give a sampler with a holiday gift pack including merch like a reusable water bottle and a T-shirt, as well as cans of raspberry and dragon green teas. Riggs Hotel Place Cards Riggs Hotel Riggs Hotel x Dear Annabelle place cards. Make dinner parties more glamorous with place cards from downtown’s grand Riggs Washington D.C. The hotel collaborated with luxury stationery brand Dear Annabelle to create a set of pretty place cards featuring four designs hand-drawn by the hotel’s creative director Jacu Strauss. The gold-edged place cards are each emblazoned with Riggs-esque illustrations, like a cocktail, Champagne tower, tea cup, and a flower as a nod to lobby-level Café Riggs’ large-scale paper floral installation. Petite Plume x Maman Apron Maman Maman’s pastel-blue aprons are fit for adults and kids alike. The New York-born French bakery and cafe, which has locations all over D.C., unveiled its own line of aprons, tea towels, table runners, placemats and napkins, courtesy of a partnership with sleepwear line Petite Plume, The collection can be found online and in maman’s Georgetown store. A Winter Wonderland toile print of snowy cabin vignettes and treat towers is printed on 100-percent cotton, and there’s even a “maman et moi” apron set for the littlest of chefs. Thrasher’s Rum Espresso Rum-Tini Cocktail Kit Tiki TNT Thrasher Rum’s potent cocktail kit. Make your own coconut rum-tini, courtesy of Tiki TNT’s resident distiller and owner Todd Thrasher. His tropics-influenced getaway at the Wharf offers cool cocktail sets for the holidays, including one with coconut rum, espresso cocktail mix, and custom glassware. The cocktail kits can only be purchased on-site. Bluepoint Hospitality Puzzle Bluepoint Hospitality Piece together Bluepoint Hospitality’s Easton-themed puzzle. For fans of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, commemorate a visit to Easton with a hand-drawn illustration of hot spots from Bluepoint Hospitality. The group’s executive chef Harley Peet is a big deal as of late after winning the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. The compelling image, which appears in puzzle or poster format, can be picked up at Flying Cloud Booksellers or the Bluepoint Holiday Market (December 6 through December 24 within Zach Gallery). Cheesetique gift basket Cheesetique Cheesetique’s delicious platters are ideal for entertaining. Northern Virginia’s gourmet creamery Cheesetique just celebrated a big birthday of 20 years in business. The shop and restaurant in Del Ray specializes in hard-to-find cheeses, meats, and accompaniments from around the world, as well as women-owned wines. Naturally, Cheesetique puts together a great snack platter; pick up a holiday box filled with three cheeses, one sliced meat, sweet and savory accoutrements, and crackers for $49.99 to $99.99 — all chosen by Cheesetique’s cheesemongers. Or opt for the $10 “make anything a gift basket” option, and your selections will be packaged up beautifully. D.C. Wine Clubs Shoals Market Shoals Market’s wine club box. There’s no shortage of creative wine clubs across D.C. Georgetown’s popular Parisian bistro Lutèce offers a wine subscription box with a surprise theme each month that included “Tectonic Palate Shifts” and “Zombie Wine” this fall. At Shoals Market within downtown’s Square food hall, a monthly wine club includes three hand-selected bottles from wine director Sarah Vanags, who catalogs tasting notes and the producers’ backstory. And Dupont’s Happy Gemini offers Wine Camp, a monthly three-pack of wine complete with its own pocket zine and in-shop preview tastings.