5 Last-Minute Gifts For Your Favorite Foodies
The best gifts are the ones you can eat.
No need to put it in storage — it goes straight to your stomach. We’ve put together the shortlist of the best gifts from Queens for your favorite foodies. Whether you’re treating a loved one’s homesickness or introducing a new friend to the wonders of Queens, Queens’s restaurants and cafés have something for everyone. Bon appétit!
Murray’s Cheese 28-30 Jackson Avenue
Cheese of the world for the World’s Borough — what could be better than a cute collection of Murray’s Cheese’s best-selling cheese? Murray’s Cheese has unforgettable classics from some of their favorite producers like Spring Brook Farm, a small, local, and traditional dairy farm whose mission is to teach respect for the land and sustainability, and Murray’s masterpieces like their Cave Aged Gruyere and High Plains Cheddar to give you a taste of incredible flavor.
Cheeses of the World sampler
Photo via Murray’s Cheese’s website
Don Carvajal Café 39-02 Crescent Street
Don’t sleep on this gift. Wake up and smell this limited-edition release of one of the world’s finest coffees. There are only 83 bags and each one is roasted to order and ship from their Bronx HQ on the same day.
The first 30 orders will ship with one limited edition mug made in Red Hook, Brooklyn by ceramic artist Colleen Arce. The remaining 53 will get Don Carvajal Café coasters. Visit their location in Queens for their other gift options.
Rebel Gesha Medium Roast Direct Trade Whole Bean Coffee
Photo via Don Carvajal’s website
718 Heat Factory 36-46 37th St
This handmade duo of hot sauce boasts that it will put you in a really good mood. Sounds like a marketing claim until you hear this: scientists say that the chemical that makes hot peppers hot releases endorphins and dopamine production in your brain. The makers would know — during law school, Leilani Kali Rivers needed a way to de-stress and making and eating hot sauce did the trick. Now with her sweetheart John Hercel, they’ve relocated to Queens to make their irresistible sauces.
Boost someone’s spirits this holiday season with some hot sauce made with love.
Sweet & Savory Hot Sauce Duo
Photo via listing on Uncommon Goods
The World Eats Here — International Cooking Recipes
With every recipe comes a small piece of the American story: of culture shock and language barriers, of falling in love and following passions, and of family bonds tested then strengthened by cooking. You’ll meet Sangyal Phuntsok, who learned to make dumplings in a refugee school for Tibetan children; now, his Tibetan Beef Momos with Hot Sauce sell like hotcakes in New York City. And Liia Minnebaeva will blow you away with her Bashkir Farm Cheese Donuts—a treat from her childhood in Oktyabrsky in western Russia.
Though each story is unique, they all celebrate one thing: Food brings people together, and there’s no better proof of that than the Queens Night Market, where flavors from all over the world can be enjoyed in one unforgettable place.
Tea and Milk 32-02 34th Avenue
Astoria-based Tea and Milk created multiple DIY bubble tea kits so you could enjoy bubble tea from the comforts of home. Forced to close their doors at the beginning of the pandemic, Tea and Milk sought a way to continue to pay their employees and donate over 5,000 drinks to health care workers throughout the city. Talk about the gift of giving!
Sweet relief for our local heroes!
Photo via Tea and Milk’s website