“Oh — Seattle” by Paul Swortz from The SunBreak Flickr pool.
Okay, Seattle, this is it: You have roughly 60 hours in which to complete your shopping before Christmas is all over you. We know there’s someone you haven’t figured out what to get yet, and there’s surely someone who’s slipped off your list that you’re going to remember Wednesday at 8 p.m. and freak out. So The SunBreak–with the help of some knowledgeable friends–is here to help: this is our desperate, last-minute gift guide of the more or less local variety. Support local businesses and take all that pesky thinking out of holiday shopping!
A Cinematic Gift That Keeps on Giving Plenty of films are made in the Great Northwest these days, and plenty of them suck. The easiest way to become familiar with what’s worthwhile and what’s best forgotten in terms of local (and non-local) cinema is by becoming a member of the Northwest Film Forum. NWFF is a member driven collective that does more than pretty much anyone else to support film in the Northwest, as well as bringing the best independent films to town. Membership starts at $40 a person (or $70 for a couple), and gets you great discounts to shows, as well as lets you help support the cinematic arts in the region. (Jeremy M. Barker)
Just Plain Nuts Holmquist Hazelnuts are absolutely delicious hazelnuts grown in Lynden, Washington. Available at the Pike Place Market and several Farmers’ Markets. (Rachael Coyle)
Mariners Merch After a few years in the wilderness of mediocrity (or worse), the Mariners are looking like contenders again. Hit Safeway or a Mariners Team Store for Mariner gift cards your M’s fan friend can buy tickets and gear with; or go balls out and put a deposit down on a 16-game plan. (Seth Kolloen)
Chocolates Falling in the delicious territory between completely useless and entirely practical (you do need calories, even if they’re near-empty), chocolate makes a good gift for just about everyone on your list. An obvious and elegant choice is the Obama-endorsed Fran’s, where the gray and smoked salt caramels is a classic minimalist delight. At this point, their website looks overloaded; so last minute purchases will need to be made in person. For the more ecologically conscious sweet tooth, look no further than Theo the country’s only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory. They have single origin bars, inspired artistic truffles, chipotle sipping chocolate, and even a vegan option or two. Order online or sample the goods in their Fremont factory. (Josh C. Bis)
Rock Musics I’d happily recommend any of my favorite albums of 2009: Curse Your Branches by David Bazan (questions about the reason for the season); Listen to the Thunder by The Maldives (best paired with The Moondoggies Don’t Be A Stranger and a bottle of whiskey); and a personal favorite, one of the most underrated local albums of 2009: Space Between The Maps by The Ironclads (for fans of complex character-driven pop songs). (Abbey Simmons, SoundontheSound.com)
Vini della Regione Anything from Magnificent Wine Company. Wrote about the winery last year. Since then, they’ve come up with great wines at all price points. Everyday House Wine, similarly priced Fish House and Steak House, a line of better, single-variety wines and some fancier stuff. But that’s just the beginning. There’s also a line of Charles Smith wines. And K Vintners (“K syrah syrah”). And, doh, I see he’s just been named America’s winemaker of the year by Food & Wine Magazine. (Nobody ever tells me anything.) (Ronald Holden, Cornichon.org)
Jazz Music for the Hepcats Three of Seattle’s great young jazz musicians have new CDs out this year: the poobahs at JazzWax wrote of Jason Parker’s debut CD, “Trumpeter Jason Parker opens his first CD No More, No Less with Bashert, a vibrant original waltz. It’s straight up from there.”
Andrew Boscardin’s Nickel & Brass Septet released Four-Color Heroes earlier this year–I did an interview with Bosco over at Seattlest on why he chose comic book artists for inspiration. The result is a bold, brawny sound.
You can download the first CD from the Jose Gonzales Trio here, for $10–everything from “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Stormy Weather” to “Funk This!” and “Monk Freak.” (For the live experience, Jose sets up shop over at St. Cloud’s and Serafina. Check their calendars.) (Michael van Baker)
Cheese (for Cougs) Cougar Gold Cheese, a delicious, tangy cheddar-style cheese made by the Creamery at WSU. Forgive the fact that it’s in a can, the WSU web site explains that the packaging was chosen when the cheese was first made in the ’30s, before plastic packaging materials had been invented. $18 a can, order online. (Rachael Coyle)
Local-ish Liquor Up in Victoria, there’s an excellent distillery, Victoria Spirits, that makes a fine gin. Down in Portland, Steve McCarthy at Clear Creek still leads the pack (and custom-makes a grappa for Cavatappi, Peter Dowd’s wine distributorship). But Oregon has well over a dozen artisan distilleries now, while Washington has, what, maybe two? Dry Fly, for sure. The new guys stick to white spirits like gin and vodka (so far) because of the time-delay (wood aging) required for brown stuff like Scotch and Bourbon. Dry Fly chose to locate in eastern Washington because of the access to grain, which is understandable. Victoria Gin, on the other hand, is based on a unique profile of locally sourced botanicals. [Ed. note: to check for which liquor stores stock a specific product, you can use the WSLCB product search database.] (Ronald Holden, Cornichon.org)
Liquor with Even Vaguer Local Ties There’s a new limoncello on the market, really good stuff, “Oro di Limone,” imported from Italy, but the importer is a local guy, Jonathan Sindelman. There’s another line of Swiss/German eaux de vie and liqueurs from a Seattle couple, Kiki Braverman and her husband (he’s a lawyer, not intimidated by all the formidable red tape thrown up by the feds & the WSLCB). [Ed. note: to check for which liquor stores stock a specific product, you can use the WSLCB product search database.] (Ronald Holden, Cornichon.org)
Good Old-Fashioned Beer Full Sail Wreck the Halls (PDF). This 6.5% holiday release is the perfect gift for the hop-head in your life. Nothing in this beer clues you in that it is a winter holiday release, but it’s a great West coast IPA. Available in 22oz bottles into January.
Big Al Winter Warmer. You can’t get this in a bottle, but it is worth a trip to the brewery in White Center to get a growler filled. How awesome would it be to get a wrapped growler under the tree? Big Al’s version is exactly what I think of when I hear the term “winter warmer.” It thrives on a big nutty, caramel base with some dark fruit. Significant, but not overwhelming, alcohol warmth will help you forget about the cold in a pinch. It manages to be big and bold, but it is still incredibly drinkable at 6.5% ABV.
Russian River Beers. Seattle beer shops just got a fresh batch of several beers in from this outstanding CA brewery. Whether you go with the immensely popular Pliny the Elder IPA, the barrel-aged sour Consecration, or the Damnation Belgian-syle strong ale, you can’t go wrong. You’d better hurry up, though. These will disappear quickly. (Geoff Kaiser, SeattleBeerNews.com)
Theatrical Entertainments Seattle has lots of great performing arts to offer. And lots that aren’t great. When it comes to choosing a subscription, it’s always risky and spendy. My recommendation is pretty much always On the Boards. Some of it will be bad, some of it will be unforgettable, and some of it will involve someone sticking their privates somewhere they shouldn’t go. But it’s always surprising and gives you something to talk about afterward. It’s also one of the most affordable subscriptions in town: their pick-six subscription runs just $120. (Jeremy M. Barker)
Literary Stuffs A stand-out Seattle-themed book this year was Akashic’s Seattle Noir , a collection of 14 crime stories set in, and written by authors from, Seattle. Then there’s Sherman Alexie’s new collection, War Dances , which came out in October. Or hell, book lovers love to do their own choosing, so pick ’em up a gift card from Elliott Bay Book Co., which is proudly heading for new digs on Capitol Hill in the new year.
A Gift for Jim Mora In a tight-budgeted, recession-strapped holiday season, the perfect gift for any Seahawks fan (or coach for that matter), is cheap, easy to obtain, and, according to Coach Jim Mora, much needed. Just get a bag, any bag. Then go out to the back yard or a local green space and fill it with dirt. Wrap it up and send it off to: Seattle Seahawks, Customer Relationship Department, 12 Seahawks Way, Renton, WA 98056. (RvO)