The Angel Gift Guide
25 gift ideas for the holidays, from a special hunk of cheese to crystal Champagne coupes.
The holidays are upon us, aka gift guide release season. I love gifting. I love gift guides. I love getting gifts, too… if they’re good ones. Friendship (and readership :)) is more than enough for me, but the feeling of receiving a thoughtful gift—pricey or inexpensive, handmade or store-bought, edible or otherwise—is undeniably special. I have long prided myself on being an excellent gift giver, and with December only a couple of days away, I’ve compiled a handful of ideas to share with you.
The Angel’s inaugural Gift Guide offers plenty in the realm of food and drink, although no restaurant merch because that’s personal, and I’m honestly tired of it. There are kitchen tools, tableware, and tasteful things for the home. (Going out to eat is my favorite thing to do, but I also adore baking and have been cooking and hosting a lot lately, too.) Much on this guide is available to be purchased locally in Los Angeles. The majority of these items I already own.
I’ll be publishing more holiday-themed stories in the coming weeks before taking an end-of-year break, so stay tuned for those. And do let me know if you’re inspired to gift any of what’s below. Here are some of my favorite things!
Edible and Drinkable
Fill a cooler full of Peronis. Or, buy a bottle of Chartreuse. I’m into amaro as a digestif, but the vibrant green herbal liqueur famously produced by Carthusian monks in the French alps is more beautiful in a glass, lesser known, and somewhat hard to come by these days. Score a bottle (a good liquor store is likely to stock it) and that’s a win. Stir into a cocktail or serve simply over ice.
Persimmons are in abundance right now at farmers markets and greengrocers across the city. The hachiyas grown by Laura Ramirez of JJ's Lone Daughter Ranch and sold extra-ripe in Santa Monica on Wednesdays are probably L.A.’s best. But a precious gift for someone who doesn’t live in a state blessed with bountiful fruit? Ship them a box. Frog Hollow Farm and Penryn Orchard Specialties can handle this for you, in case you don’t want to risk faulty transportation, although it seems that both farms only have fuyu in stock right now. (Are the hachiyas coming to an end?!)
The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills is chock-full of first-rate gifts. That said, my recommendation from here is a generous hunk of Buhaiolo, a sheep’s milk cheese from Tuscany rippled with wild fennel seeds and pollen. It’s slightly sweet, uniquely aromatic, and insanely delicious. I’ve never had anything like it before.
Take your lover to dinner at Baroo or Yess. The former specializes in modern, fermentation-forward Korean cuisine while the latter is a progressive Japanese restaurant that handles seafood exquisitely. Historically, I don’t love a tasting menu, but the experience I had and the food I ate at each of these restaurants—both of them new to Los Angeles this year, and both $110 a head—were exceptional.
I like very spicy food. When it comes to hot sauce, however, I prefer tangy, vinegar-based elixirs to the super hot stuff. (For real heat, chiles should be added during cooking!) Woon’s Mama’s Way—which you can buy at Woon, plus pretty much every gourmet food store in town—is excellent. So is Erewhon’s house recipe and Sqirl’s lacto-fermented jalapeño sauce.
Sunset Cultures’ shrubs are tart, fruity, and made with top-notch local produce. For a tasty alternative to an alcoholic beverage, just mix them with sparkling water. You can buy the shrubs at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sundays, online, and at a handful of shops around town. (Also grab a 4-pack of cherry-fig leaf kombucha while you’re at it.)
A cylindrical, forest green bottle of Frankies 457 olive oil is a certified (artisanal) household brand. And recently, the Franks—Castronovo and Falcinelli, the proprietors and chef-owners of a slew of Brooklyn restaurants—leveled up big time to offer more varieties of their Sicilian EVOO (including a delightful Calabrian chili SKU), in addition to jars of olives and packages of dried pasta. The entire Frankies Specialty Foods line is available to cop in Whole Foods nationwide.
For your Kitchen
Some of my closest friends got married this year and I got them all Balmudas. The toaster oven is a bona fide engineering feat from Japan that produces heavenly toast, revives days-old pastries, and elevates frozen pizza. My own hack is to keep homemade frozen cookie dough in my freezer to bake in my Balmuda whenever a craving hits. (Also, not-homemade frozen pigs in a blanket.) It’s the splurgey gift that any receiver will be indebted to you for.
I’ve recommended this before, and I’ll recomend it again: Le Creuset’s waiters corkscrew is the best wine opener on the market. It is also very good at opening packages. (H/t to my dad for showing me the way.)
Growing up, my household always had a rotary cheese grater. To this day, the handheld device signals pasta night and pure joy measured in shaved Parmesan.
Bake Claire Ptak’s banana bread for someone you love. It’ll be the best they’ve ever had. Use a loaf pan decorated with wildflowers, alpine trees, or starburst flutes, and it’ll be even more special.
In a fit of inspiration this past summer, I purchased this affordable, easy-to-use ice cream maker. Now I’m hooked on making ice cream. I’ve churned quarts of Santa Barbara pistachio ice cream, Tree Juice maple ice cream, and fig leaf-raspberry sorbet, to name a few. In the process, I’ve become deeply grateful for Kitty Travers, a London-based ice cream maker whose cookbook, La Grotta, is my go-to resource. You (or your recipient) will also need a trusty scooper if you/they don’t already have one.
Chez Panisse Vegetables is my other favorite cookbook from this past year. It’s far from new—in fact, it was published in 1996—but the mint copy I picked up at Bart’s Books in Ojai has provided me with a wealth of effortless recipes for seasonal produce. It’s organized by vegetable, each with a timeless illustration.
Tableware
Whether you decide to make your own ice cream or purchase the good stuff, a set of vintage stainless steel ice cream bowls creates for an elegant eating experience.
Four Opinel steak knives will serve anyone well for chicken and pork chops, too. (Or, do like me, and order a couple of each in your preferred colors.)
I do not own Champagne glasses… yet. I’m eyeing a pair of Waterford coupes and six dishwasher-safe Schott Zwiesel crystal chutes.
This is my favorite salad bowl, by Heath Ceramics. It was gifted to me in the beautiful moonstone blue, and I’m a fan of it in lemongrass and redwood as well.
A water pitcher is essential for dinner parties—and preferably glass. Nickey Kehoe, on Beverly Blvd, makes a nice one.
Wellness
The Japanese sports drink Pocari Sweat is so much tastier (and healthier, I think) than Gatorade. And the branding is on-point. You can find it at H Mart, Murakai Market, and most other East Asian grocery stores. Buy a pallet for your fitness-focused friends.
Santa Maria Novella, the eight centuries-old Italian apothecary and perfumerie, can take all my money. The fragrance I wear is theirs. Their Idrasol moisturizer is pure luxury. And their foot cream works wonders. A gorgeous gift would be one of their newly released colored glass candles in a signature scent, like the masculine Tobacco Toscano or the softly floral Fresia. (There’s a store on Melrose Place.)
I am addicted to endorphins (Barry’s Bootcamp, hot yoga, and hiking are my highs of choice). My mom, who is somewhat of an expert in the cannabis space, told me that this restorative CBD lotion by Muscle MX is the best. I now use it religiously.
Apparel & Such
I’m only 30 years old, and yet I’ve owned a personalized chef jacket for almost two decades. It was a gift, naturally. Whenever I have people over for dinner and I’m finishing something up in the kitchen, I put it on to protect my outfit. People go crazy for it. It’s cute, a bit funny, and extremely useful. Add embroidery to a Tilit chef coat (men’s or women’s) or a White Bark Workwear apron, which are made in L.A.
Pacific Tote Company totes bear the structure I want and need, unlike most other tote bags. They are great for travel and to bring to the farmers market. Yellow is my favorite color and zippers rock.
It’s good practice to tie your hair back when cooking, and it’s easy to do so when there’s a lovely little scrunchie around your wrist. I favor these from Crown Affair.
I quite like this carrot puzzle from Artisan Puzzles and John Derian.
Happy gifting!