Artisan Chocolates bought at Cocova by Nikoo’s Photos

This is the first in a series of holiday shopping guides that focus on small businesses and local stores, producers and purveyors.

With the holidays nearly upon us, it is time to start thinking about gift giving. While it’s easy to go to Target, Amazon or some other big box store to pick up your gifts, small businesses provide personalized customer service and a curated set of products. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be providing you with lists of our favorite places to shop local.

Since we’re not huge fans of holiday shopping before Thanksgiving, we’re going to kick it off with our favorite places to grab food-related gifts. Many of these places sell great items for holiday gifts, but you’ll also be able to pick up some of your supplies for Thanksgiving dinner or the perfect host gift.

Kitchen Supplies
Hill’s Kitchen
Whether you’re a seasoned chef looking for high-end cookware, a hostess who needs an adorable apron, or a baker looking for Washington, D.C. shaped cookie cutters (or any of the 50 states), Hill’s Kitchen has you covered. This gourmet kitchenware store also regularly offers cooking classes and demonstrations, teaching attendees things like knife skills, how to make hand made pasta, and seasonal baking. The shop’s owner, Leah Daniels, who was born and raised on Capitol Hill, is behind the counter most days and is an excellent resource if you need help picking out an item. You’ll often hear her telling customers what she carries in her own kitchen.

Home Rule
Home Rule has been on 14th Street since 1999, a time when it wasn’t the kind of place you wanted to spend an extended period of time. But now it’s the place to go when you want to pick up the type of kitchen gear you see displayed in Dwell with brushed stainless steel parts, ergonomic grips and vivid colors.

Rodman’s
Known as “The Weirdest Little Drugstore in Washington,” Rodman’s is a veritable potpourri of “stuff.” Family owned since 1955, the store sells a little bit of everything. You’re probably not looking for a walker or luggage as a holiday gift, but they do sell them. But they also sell lots of English treats, such as Cadbury’s Milk Tray and Roses, mince pies, and New Year’s crackers. You can also get some great deals on kitchen supplies. Pick up a Kuhn Rikon paring knife, an escargot plate, lemon bags, or bakeware. Last year, they had a sale on Sodastream machines for $10-15 less than most stores.

Classes
Culinaerie
For the burgeoning chef, you can pick up a gift certificate for classes at cooking school Culinaerie. With classes in international cuisines, as well as special classes taught by locals, including Derek Brown and Carla Hall, this is a way for a home chef to expand his repertoire.

Specialty Goods
Cafe Mozart
Many of us probably grew up in families with European holiday traditions. And if you’re looking for glogg, speculoos, stollen and advent calendars, you can pick them up at Cafe Mozart. And for those friends who miss German sausages, they sell a variety of wurst, including blood sausage.

Copper Pot Food Company
Started by Chef Stefano Frigerio, Copper Pot features a really great selection of fresh pastas, pasta sauces and jams. I’m pretty crazy about the smoky bacon and parmesan pasta sauce, as well as the strawberry and vanilla bean jam. You can find his wares at Cork Market, and Cowgirl Creamery.

Cork Market
Swing by Cork Market not only for wine, but tons of gourmet items such as pasta, pasta sauces, jams, Zapp’s chips, coffee and cheese.

Hana Market
Put together a basket of Japanese treats. Fill up your basket with Kasugai gummis, soba noodles, packets of instant miso soup, Pocky, Marukawa gumballs, and other random sweets. In the past I’ve also found dried preserved black beans in a bag featuring a picture of a gorilla picking its nose.

M.E. Swing’s Coffee
Without question, M.E. Swing’s is one of our favorite coffees. And even better, they roast right in Alexandria. You can swing by their Metro Center shop to pick up their freshly roasted beans, or stop at Rodman’s or Whole Foods.

Seasonal Pantry
Before starting SUNdeVICH, Ali Bagheri and Daniel O’Brien started Seasonal Pantry. Seasonal Pantry features a variety of butchered meats, pantry items, charcuterie, and local produce. Along with food items, they host cheese classes and supper clubs.

Stachowski Brand Charcuterie
Prior to starting Stachowski Brand Charcuterie, Chef Jamie Stachowski ran Restaurant Kolumbia, where he was knocking out amazing kielbasa. In addition to kielbasa, he now offers amazing merguez, brats, and other sausages. He’s hoping to have his own shop in the former Griffin Market space in Georgetown open by the holidays. Until then, you can get some of his charcuterie at the Alexandria, Falls Church or Palisades Markets.

Wagshal’s
Spring Valley butcher Wagshal’s is the place to go for your meat lover. They sell a wide variety of exotic meats, such as kangaroo and rattlesnake (call in advance to check for availability). For your favorite pork lover, you can get pick fresh Iberico de Bellota, from the famous Spanish black-footed pigs. They forage on acorns, lending a nuttiness to their flesh and gratuitous fat.

Sweets
ACKC
Pick up orders from Michel Patisserie and get chocolates from Artisan Confections here (see below), as well as a variety of other hand made chocolates. While you’re there, you can warm up with one of their indulgent hot chocolates.

Artisan Confections
Jason Andelman makes unique filled chocolates, and candies available for purchase at ACKC and Cocova, as well as in his shop in Arlington. The decorations on top of his chocolate are almost make them too pretty to eat. From time to time, he will make special boozy chocolates filled with tasty things like bourbon or Willett rye.

Cocova (formerly Biagio Fine Chocolate)
For the true chocolate connoisseur, you can pull together a sampler of single-origin, high cacao content chocolate bars. The store has tastings as well as a staff that can guide you through selecting bars. (I like the Michel Cluizel sampler pack as a gift or Coppeneur bars for tasting.) And if you want chocolate with “stuff” there are plenty of options — Vosges crazy bars, and fleur de sel caramels. Any of the Recchiuti options are also excellent choices.

J Chocolatier
Local chocolate maker Jane Morris sells hand-dipped chocolates on a side street in Georgetown. In the past she’s featured a variety of boozy chocolates, featuring absinthe and Bell’s cherry stout.

Michel Patisserie
Virginia-based Michel Giaon makes some of the best French macarons I’ve found stateside. The jammy centers of Giaon’s macarons are not too cloyingly sweet like so many others; my personal favorite is the passionfruit with a passionfruit chocolate ganache center. You can order his macarons online for delivery or pick them up at ACKC or Artisan Confections.