The Eater Detroit 2020 Holiday Gift Guide for Restaurant Lovers

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Brenna Houck is a Cities Manager for the Eater network. She previously edited Eater Detroit and reported for Eater. You can follow her on the internet at @brennahouck.

Shopping local has always been important, but this year in particular supporting the small business community is absolutely essential to making sure our favorite places get through the holiday season. Fortunately, it’s not a hard choice to make. The restaurant and bar merchandise has never been more abundant, accessible, or cool than it is in 2020. Just about every metro Detroit establishment has some sort of cool shirt, barware, or ornament worth wrapping up as a gift of adding to a stocking this season.

In this guide, Eater has assembled some of our favorite gifts celebrating Michigan food and drink available for online ordering with either curbside pickup or in some cases shipping nationwide.

From pierogi clubs to orange bitters to spices for home cooks, below find 20 starting points for your holiday shopping list. Still want more options? Check out Eater’s list of gift guides across the country or look back at Eater Detroit’s guides from past years.

A spread of pierogi, butter, kielbasa, and dill pickle soup next to a bag of Pietrzyk Pierogi.

A Club for Pierogi Fans

The Pierogi of the Month Club from Pietrzyk Pierogi is a guaranteed slam dunk for that person on your list that loves pierogi and also loves stocking their fridge. The restaurant in Eastern Market will ship a dozen frozen pierogi monthly to addresses in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. For information about shipping farther afield, email the shop for pricing.

Buy: Pietrzyk Pierogi ($300)

A bright pink illustration of La Gloria Bakery in Detroit on a banana yellow background.

A Cute Detroit Restaurant Print

Local artist and illustrator Meredith Miotke is known for her charming patterns and illustrations. Much of her art happens to focus on food from Detroit-style pizza to well-known landmarks like Detroit One Coney Island and La Gloria Bakery (part of her Polis series). Find her illustration of Bon Bon Bon on a sweatshirt. These prints ship internationally and can be purchased with a frame for additional fee.

Buy: INPRNT ($20-$25)

Frosted snowflake-shaped cookies next to cookie cutters and a marijuana leaf.

A Festive Food Kit

Frame is branching out into kits for the holidays with a variety of festive gifts for people who adore food and the local restaurant scene. Think: holiday cookie edibles from Michigan bakers, mulled wine kits assembled by metro Detroit bartenders, and handmade sake sets with bottle pairings from Frame’s sommelier. These gift boxes are available for curbside pickup in December. Place orders by Sunday, December 13.

Buy: Frame (Price Varies)

A blue and white ceramic mug filled with crushed ice, mint, and lime on a skewer.

A Handmade Mug

For cocktail aficionados and people who just appreciate a nice, handmade mug, Standby is selling ceramic julep cups made by artist TJ Edwards. The mugs vary in color from blue to green and feature imprints from surfaces around Standby. Flat-rate shipping is available, as well as pickup and delivery.

Buy: Standby ($35)

Orange Bitters

Stock someone’s home bar with orange bitters specially made and bottled by the Sugar House in Corktown. The cocktail lounge’s online shop features a variety of barware and gear suitable for a pleasant at-home drinking experience. The bitters are available for flat-rate shipping as well as local pickup.

Buy: The Sugar House ($20)

A Handsome Cutting Board

Home cooking and charcuterie assembling requires a quality cutting board. Schramm’s Mead in Ferndale is selling Michigan walnut cutting boards with maple and cherry stripe accents made by nextdoor neighbors Long White Beard. The boards are available for local pickup and shipping.

Buy: Schramm’s Mead ($80)

A white bag of coffee with a photo of a white terrier and the words “Bosco Birthday” blend underneath.

A Designer Bag of Coffee Beans

Populace Coffee is adding a little bit of fun to its coffee bags. Upload a favorite photo and a special message for a custom look. The Populace House Brand coffee on the inside is just an added bonus on Christmas morning.

Buy: Populace Coffee ($18)

A bottle of Caribbean style hot pepper sauce from Norma G’s.

A Good Bottle of Hot Sauce

Now a neighborhood staple in Jefferson Chalmers, Norma G’s is currently serving Trinidadian-by-way-of-Detroit food for carryout. But fans can add a little flavor and heat to every meal with the restaurant’s Caribbean-style hot pepper sauce. The blend features four different peppers and natural fruit flavor.

Buy: Norma G’s ($8)

A row of Chef Max bottled spices on a black background.

Spices for the Pantry

Chef Max Hardy of Coop is a savvy entrepreneur in addition to making some damn good food. The chef to the stars even has his own line of spices, which he uses at restaurants around the area. Choose from flavors like Jamaican jerk, Cuban mojo, and espresso rub.

Buy: Spices By Chef Max ($9 each)

A green and a pink wooden cake pin with the words Rose’s Fine Food on them.

Pins for People Who Love Cake

Rose’s Fine Food has some really great merch. For lovers of the restaurant and wine bar’s retro-looking cakes, consider picking up a few of these wooden pins to dress up a purse or a jean jacket.

Buy: Rose’s Fine Food ($5)

A black bottle with a stopper sits in a bunch of netting in purple light. The bottle says Rum XXX on it.

A Quirky Cocktail Mug Fit for a Pirate

Tropical cocktail bar Lost River has pretty much been in stasis for the duration the pandemic. Though to-go cocktails are available, to get the real experience, home bars need some special mugs. The bar is currently selling a variety of quirky mugs like krakens, rum bottles, and even a bathtub for drinking double-shots of gin. The mugs are available for shipping.

Buy: Lost River (Varies)

Three brown pouch packages of gravitas spiced nuts inside Castalia.

Spiced Nuts for the Home Bar

This popular cocktail bar blends fragrances for a multi-sensory drinking experience in Cass Corridor. Currently, Castalia is offering cocktails to-go as well as select barware and reusable straws. Give the gift of a good bar snack with the Gravitas Candied Nuts made by Detroit Gourmet Nut Company. The vegan and gluten-free snack features walnuts, pecans, and cashews with maple, coriander, cardamom, and nutmeg. It pairs with Sfumato’s Gravitas fragrance.

Buy: Castalia ($8)

A man wearing a mask wears a black sweatshirt that says Grazie seven times in white and Buona Giornata at the bottom.

A Cozy Sweatshirt That Says ‘Thank You’

Help a local diner in your life cozy up for patio season with a pullover from Italian restaurant and mercato SheWolf. The design, which reads “Thank you” and “Good day,” is great for Italophiles on your list. Pair the smart-looking swag with a bag of pasta, fancy fresh-milled flour, or a really good bottle of Italian wine. These items are available for online pre-order and pickup.

Buy: SheWolf Mercato ($40)

A glass porron with a cork stopper sits on the counter at Cata Vino with menus in the foreground and wine bottles in the background.

A Porrón For the Person That Likes to Play With Wine

Spain sure knows how to have fun with wine. An oenophile would likely enjoy playing with this glass porrón from Cata Vino Mercado & Wine Bar in Cass Corridor. Pair the vessel with a nice bottle of Spanish sherry. Pour wine into the porrón, tip the spout in the direction of your mouth, and enjoy!

Buy: Cata Vino ($22)

A blush pink, gold, and silver straw next to a staw cleaner and a Sol Cups pouch.

A Proper Set of Reusable Straws

Reusable straws were one of the hottest items of 2019, and turned out to be rather practical for drinking to-go cocktails in 2020. Stuff a stocking with this gorgeous set of Sol metal straws and cleaner from Folk in Corktown. Items are available for pre-order in the online shop for local pickup.

Buy: Folk ($13)

Supino Pizzeria [Courtesy photo]

A T-Shirt for the Detroit Pizza Lover

This beloved pizzeria in Eastern Market is reliably offering carryout and expanding to New Center very soon. Fans of Detroit pizza that’s not necessarily Detroit-style can rep one of the best places for a slice with this Supino Pizzeria shirt. It comes in several different colors.

Buy: Supino Pizzeria ($16)

A black shirt that says eat cake for breakfast with an illustration of a slice of rainbow cake with a birthday candle.

A Shirt That Gives You Permission to Eat Cake for Breakfast

Good Cakes & Bakes wants customers to not only have their cake, but wear it too. The popular Avenue of Fashion bakery is selling a variety of shirts professing love for cake, biscuits, and even sprinkles that are ideal for someone who enjoys something sweet. Actual cakes are also being shipped via Goldbelly.

Buy: Good Cakes & Bakes ($25-$30)

A bottle of Honey Bourbon Reserve and a Smaller Bottle of Bees in the D Honey Bourbon next to some pine tree needles and red Christmas ornaments.

A Hyper-Local Bourbon

One of Detroit City Distillery’s most popular collaboration spirit releases is available for pre-order now. The Eastern Market Company partnered with apiary Bees in the D to create a bourbon with locally produced raw honey. Customers can choose from a larger bottle of single-barrel honey bourbon or a smaller limited edition bottle. Other Detroit City Distillery products (and spirits from several local booze makers) are also shipped by Woods Wholesale Wine.

Buy: Detroit City Distillery ($70 single-barrel) | Bees in the D ($40 limited edition) | Woods Wholesale Wine (Varies by Product)

A slice of bundt-style rum cake on a plate with fresh whipped cream and berries.

A Really Good Rum Cake

Skip the fruitcake and go straight for the rum. Serafina’s Rum Cake is a family recipe that’s become a tradition for many people in Detroit celebrating around the holidays. Made by baker Serafina Hernandez, the mother of the owner of Mexicantown Bakery in Southwest Detroit, these cakes are boxed up and available for walk-ins at the bakery as well as for online ordering. Customers who wish to have one shipped, should make a request through the Serafina’s Rum Cake Facebook page.

Buy: Mexicantown Bakery ($36)

Michigan & Trumbull [Courtesy image]

A Shirt For Folks That Love Square Slices

Despite many obstacles, this Corktown Detroit-style pizzeria really took the city by storm during 2020, and Michigan & Trumbull continues to excel at carryout. The restaurant has also developed some smart designs with artists that bring a bit of old-school pizzeria fun to the merch.

Buy: Michigan & Trumbull ($24)

A gold shirt with two snarling panthers on it.

A Cool Shirt for Ann Arbor Beer Fiends

Eater’s Ann Arbor contributor John Reyes has been dropping some major hints to family this year for this shirt and suggests that it should be on other people’s holiday lists, too. The shirts come in gold or black and are available for shipping.

Buy: Homes Brewery ($25)

Eater Wine Club Subscription

Reasons to uncork a bottle of wine are in no short supply right now, and Eater has Detroit covered with this new monthly subscription. Available in packages of two or four bottles per month, the club’s shipments are curated by a different restaurant from around the country each month. The first package comes from Zwann Grays, the beverage director behind popular New York restaurants Olmsted and Maison Yaki.