23 Comments
User's avatar
Barbara's avatar

Thanks for the great gift guide! I noticed the lovely Stanglware plate under your prolific citrus tree. My collection started with service for 8 (minus a few that had broken through the years.) They were my mother's everyday dishes and I still use them to this day. I have added to her collection and remodeled my kitchen entirely with glass front cabinets to show the Stangl off. Does it take being tidy when putting them away? Yes, but it's worth it.

Expand full comment
Ruth Reichl's avatar

I bought those plates at a thriftshop in Ann Arbor when I was 18!

Expand full comment
Barbara's avatar

Wow!

Expand full comment
Bettie DeWitt's avatar

My dad was a patent attorney and his office was in the Montgomery Building in the Financial District. We made yummy weekly memories at Tadich's.

Expand full comment
Brad's avatar

FYI, Ugly Drum pastrami is presently back on Gold Belly. https://www.goldbelly.com/ugly-drum

Expand full comment
From Ritual to Romance's avatar

Time to do some holiday shopping! Thanks for these wonderful suggestions.

Expand full comment
Emily Hawks's avatar

Ruth, this is truly a gift. Thank you. I am going to sit, read and shop! Imagining I’m in your kitchen with you (and that lovey orange tree).

Expand full comment
Jaime Hamlin's avatar

Love all these suggestions,I have ordered Roy's Pannetone- For friends that have everything, food is the go to gift !

Expand full comment
John A Crotty's avatar

Thank you for the shout out. Quite an honor to be well regarded by you and equally thankful for the kind words. We are lucky getting to work with so many community gardens all over the country but the hardest part is telling people what we are doing and how they can help. Your piece goes a long way to helping bridge that gap . Can we send you a tshirt ? Its styled after the Ramones and think you would like it . A million thanks, very cool. Small Axe Peppers

Expand full comment
Ruth Reichl's avatar

Thanks John. I'm ordering a tshirt and it will be an honor to wear it! I truly do love what you're doing.

Expand full comment
Delia Binder's avatar

I remember hearing about using anchovies packed in salt as opposed to in olive oil - have you tried those, and how good are they as opposed to the Don Bocarte ones?

The ones which, despite the nosebleed price, I'm seriously tempted to purchase a can of....

Expand full comment
Ruth Reichl's avatar

I used to buy Italian anchovies packed in salt. They're good - but once you taste Cantabrian anchovies you'll never go back. These have an umami sweetness I've not found in other anchovies. But beware: they truly are addictive.

Expand full comment
Susan in NM's avatar

Palisade peaches from Colorado- extra sweet, extra juicy

Expand full comment
Ruth Reichl's avatar

So happy to know about these. Thanks!

Expand full comment
alyce oreilly's avatar

Many memorable times at Tadich grill! Such an iconic place.

Expand full comment
HF's avatar

As a panettone lover I was excited to order a USA obsessive’s version. Sadly, what I received from Roy was tough and tasted as if it had previously been frozen. Will be sticking with Fiasconaro’s traditional panettone imported from Sicily, and available through Amazon for a much lower price.

Expand full comment
Ruth Reichl's avatar

I'm shocked! That's the first negative thing I've ever heard about Roy's. The ones I've gotten have all been superb.

Expand full comment
HF's avatar

Maybe it was a fluke? 🤷‍♀️ Makes me think I should reach out to them. Maybe there will be a positive update....

Expand full comment
Ruth Reichl's avatar

You should! Please let us know what happens.

Expand full comment
WAYNE CHRISTENSEN's avatar

Grateful that you shared these ambrosial edibles!

Expand full comment
Terry Sauer's avatar

Love the Tadich menu! A must visit on any trip to San Francisco! This menu looks like it hasn’t changed much except for the prices! Killer martinis! A real piece of old San Francisco.

Expand full comment
LG's avatar

I like Mala Market okay, and they do seem to be doing some sourcing of their own of high end Chinese ingredients that aren’t normally exported which js a nice service, but to be clear, the product highlighted here is widely available at asian groceries including 99 Ranch. I think it’s a bit of subtle discrimination or at least a failure of openness and curiosity to feature a product from Mala Market (owned by a white woman with an adopted Chinese child) who markets their products in a way very palatable to white readers and as high end, while failing to acknowledge or recognize that there are a lot of great, high quality ingredients at your average every day “ethnic” grocery. Like the grocery staple you highlighted that I buy for $.99 or $1.99, I forget, at my local 99 Ranch. It just requires a bit more work on the part of the buyer, since the products and items are not necessarily marketed or explained to someone unfamiliar with chinese cooking. But they have english labels and nutrition facts, and google is a short keystroke away.

Expand full comment
jen segal's avatar

Ahhh Mala Market....learned about them from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt... buying aged soy as a gift this year along with some chili crisp. Their flower Szechuan peppers bring joy. Great list, too!

Expand full comment