2016 Locavore Gift Guide: Eats and Drinks

Our gift guide emphasizes the notions of buying local and shopping local without splitting too many hairs on just how wasteful or helpful to the economy they are. We certainly skipped over plenty of products with Colorado flags slapped on them but with no local ties. Yet even those goods, if bought at a local store, keep local workers working and downtowns bustling. Getting out and shopping, as stressful as it gets, is a shared experience and a part of that fuzzy word “community” we all love. And then again, we understand the time crunch leads to buying gifts online, so we’ve include local businesses with web offers, too.

Beer Stein
The Classic Vacuum Stein by Stanley is a rough and tumble stainless steel insulator to keep 24-ounces of suds cold and carbonated, and the lid keeps the snow out. Available in the iconic hammertone green or matte black.$35

Cookbook Like A Local
“Eat Drink Shine: Inspiration from Our Kitchen” The Boulder triplets behind Shine restaurant share eating philosophy and life advice in their debut cookbook. Accustomed to food at the center of their lives, the trio share some of their routines to living fuller and healthier live. The recipes are gluten-free, paleo-inspired and based on whole foods. $30 Shine, 2027 13th St.

Robin Chocolates
Apricot cinnamon, blackberry sage and lavender are just a few of the flavors that Longmont chocolatier Robin Autorino infuses into bite-sized works of dessert art. Pick up an assortment with 4, 8, 12, or 24 almost too-pretty-to-eat pieces of high-quality chocolate. Barks, brittles, caramels and turtles make great gifts, too. We usually just get the S’mores chocolates. From $10

Culinary Tour
Here’s the chance to eat at several of Boulder’s culinary hotspots in one afternoon. The Taste of Boulder Culinary Tour includes food, drink and gratuity at each stop, and they promise to fill you up. Tours are on Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. To book, contact Local Table Tours at 303-909-5747. $79

Honey
Forget the bear bottle — you haven’t tasted real honey until you’ve had an artisan honey like Highland’s. Raw, unfiltered, and whipped so that it doesn’t crystallize, this honey offers flavors and aromas unique to Boulder County’s terroir and to the high level of attention the bees receive. Buy for your favorite wine/coffee/cheese/chocolate-lover and maybe get a jar for yourself. From $9

Persian Jams
Nice gift basket and stocking-stuffer options, the jams from Briggs St. Cafe are homemade and seasonal. Flavors like Carrot Cardamom and Spiced Pumpkin make a unique and delicious spread.
Briggs St. Cafe, 698 Briggs St.

Meals from RAD Boulder
For that someone in your life who deserves a week off of cooking after the holiday, or perhaps wants a fresh start on a 2017 diet, give them a week’s worth of dinners (or lunches) from Real Athlete Diets. Designed for the active set, these ready-to-heat meals usually weigh in at 400 calories, with 25-30 grams of protein. $10-$12 per meal

Colorado Cheese Sampler Basket
A great way to welcome newcomers or Cheese Importers curates a gift basket called the Taste of Colorado, which includes three Colorado cheese selections, Bremner’s biscuits, Epicurean Butter, wine jelly, cookies and a chocolate bar. $60

Chocolate Sampler Box
Boulder’s big chocolate exporter Chocolove puts 24 of its bars inside a cloth-bound gift box; including its newest dark chocolate flavors to the organic original. Unlike other chocolate sampler boxes, the 3-ounce bars are enough to share. Maybe just a bite. $45 Chocolove.com