Gift ideas for Petaluma foodies

A foodie town, Petaluma has lots to offer food-lovers on your list.|

Every year we forget just how much holiday shopping we can achieve within just a few blocks, by committing just a couple of hours to walking around downtown Petaluma. With the fires devastating our local economy, now more than ever we need to support our local shops.

Our afternoon started at the Sweet Zone in Theater Square, because we wanted some fancy local chocolates for a couple gift bags we were putting together for family. While there though, we discovered so many other great gift ideas and stocking stuffers, like caramel filled candy canes, a Star Wars Pez variety pack, and an ugly sweater cookie making kit.

We also found an incredible selection of chocolate, including my favorite holiday treat - chocolate oranges. We just so happen to run into co-owner Will Bomar, who informed us that they will start up their chocolate club at the beginning of the year, offering specialty chocolates that they would not otherwise carry. That certainly seems like a great gift for the chocolate lover in your life.

Our next stops were at Crocodile, Sugo, Slam Burger and Wild Goat Bistro for gift certificates. There is nothing that I love more than receiving restaurant gift certificates because they mean getting to either visit new restaurants, or revisit old favorites, at my leisure and without having to reach into my wallet to cover the tab.

Next up was Thistle Meats for bit of charcuterie as well as gift card, before crossing the street to Della Fattoria for another gift card. Both locations, as well as the Seed Bank up the street, offer tons of great local foodie type gifts.

Around the corner from Seed Bank is the Drawing Board, which has started offering classes on everything from Winter Potions to Preserves to Natural Body Products. Experiences are a great gift because they often give someone a once in a lifetime experience. Others that come to mind are the cheese making classes offered by Achadinha Cheese and the jam and wreath making classes at LaLa’s Jam Bar.

LaLa’s also offers many great local products that are perfect for any holiday gift basket. Sonoma Spice also offers some unique gifts, including some great salt and spice gift baskets for the chef on your list. Charley’s Wine Country Deli, just a few blocks south of downtown, also has a great selection of local stocking stuffers, from Petaluma Toffee to Fallon Hill’s Ranch jerky.

Down the block from the Drawing Board, Copperfield’s is always a good gift-buying stop, especially if you are looking to support local authors. Although not necessarily about food, Kenneth Nugene’s “Petaluma Slough” is the latest locally written book about our locale, and has been flying off the shelves. Check the Museum if sold out at Copperfield’s. Other great local books include Frances Rivetti’s “Fog Valley Crush” and “Fog Valley Winter,” Laurie Figone’s “Cooking with Laurie Figone” and Kathleen Weber’s “Della Fattoria Bread.”

iLeoni was next on our list, and is always a feast for the senses with everything from serving platters to knives to table clothes and napkins. We ducked down the breezeway of the LanMart, in order to reach Marisa’s Fantasia, passing Twisted 2, which also makes for a great restaurant gift certificate.

Among the many interesting gift ideas, Marisa’s stocks a healthy variety of animal related kitchen items, leaning heavily towards the farm animal genre, although their collection of maritime, and especially octopus themed plates, platters, cups, and coffee tables is impressive. Across the breezeway is sister store Christmas Fantasia, where one can find just about any food-related Christmas ornament imaginable.

One great local artist to support is Pete Maloney, who has a 2018 calendar titled “Petaluma Places.” Pete has received a lot of attention for his broad-stroked and boldly colored “Sonoma Strong” prints and T-shirts. Much of his calendar depicts iconic local food spots, including The Snack Shack and Joe’s A-1 Bakery. Current orders may not make it by Christmas, but that is no big deal because the recipient will have 12 months to enjoy this gift, www.petemaloney.com.

Always appreciated around the holidays, how about giving a nice bottle of wine? Maybe something from our newly minted Petaluma Gap AVA? Petaluma has a lot of great places to buy wine, including Vine & Barrel, Petaluma Market, Willibees, Charley’s and of course our two downtown tasting rooms, Barber Cellars and Adobe Road Wines. For special holiday events, we always make sure to show up with a nice bottle of Petaluma Gap wine. Currently, we are showing up with Keller Estate’s newly released 2017 Olio Nuovo.

Barber also sells other local products and makes gift baskets to order. A few doors down, Truck & Barter offers a nice array of kitchen, home and lifestyle gifts, most made in the U.S.

Over on the sweeter side, Sonoma Portworks, right behind Charley’s, offers a great selection of locally produced ports and grapas, as well as the ever-popular Sonomic, in either Muscat or Cabernet. Touted as “less acidic than vinegar and richer than balsamic,” no gift basket is complete without at least one bottle of Sonomic.

In our house, the same goes for F. A. Nino’s hot sauces, rubs and barbecue sauces. In fact, it is not unusual for us to simply buy one of everything from F. A. Nino’s for that extra saucy person on our holiday gift list.

When it comes to the hard stuff, Petaluma has an ever-growing selection of spirits, including Stillwater Spirits, Griffo and Sonoma Coast Spirits. Griffo’s newly released Stout Barrel Whiskey is quite popular, as are the vodkas from Sonoma Coast Spirits. Willibees is carrying a very special Sonoma Coast Spirits Holiday Mixology Basket, which is sure to keep the party going.

From Marisa’s Fantasia, we headed back around to Fourth Street, where we grabbed a delicious slice of pizza at Lunchette, while also securing a couple more gift cards. Looking across the street at the Petaluma Museum, we were reminded of what a wonderful gift a museum memberships is. The museum hosts several enlightening food events each year, along with a huge selection of enchanting concerts.

Another membership of sorts would be a gift “membership” to Bellyfull Dinners. We purchased one of these for the in-laws just for the peace of mind that they are at least getting a couple home-delivered meals each week.

Next door to Lunchette, we stopped in to Field Works Petaluma to shop their eclectic mix of Petaluma branded clothing and kitchenware, along with some eye-catching food-related artwork.

Across B Street, we made our last stop of the day at Rex’s Hardware and Country Store. We were there specifically for an experiential gift for a friend. He loves our home-made pickles, so a gift of mason jars and pickle mix seemed in order. We are also always drawn to their Lodge cast iron pan display and Bodum French press coffee makers.

Although the places I mention are downtown, Petaluma has a lot of great shops and restaurants spread throughout the city. Some of our favorite gift certificate opportunities come by way of Sarah’s Eats & Sweets, Simmer Vietnamese, Bright Bear Bakery +, Flamez, PubRepublic, Sax’s Joint and Luma.

We achieved all our shopping goals in just three hours, which included grabbing some snacks along the way, even though it was a busy Saturday afternoon in the heart of the holiday shopping season. We took extra pride in the fact that by directing our holiday dollars to local shops, we are helping do our part to keep our community happy, healthy and uniquely Petaluma. Spending money locally doubles the value of your gifts because you not only get great local products for those on your holiday list, but you do it by putting that money back in out or local economy.

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