Foodie on your gift list? Lexington restaurants, stores have tasty Kentucky ideas

It’s that time of year again. Christmas shopping. Now, I know you have your list of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, right?

For those who have been naughty, you can resort to ordering from online shopping giants, and if they’re lucky, they might receive their gift by St. Patrick’s Day.

However, for those who have been nice, here’s an idea: Skip the big box stores and make it a local Christmas.

For the foodies in your life, here are 14 local businesses that promise a sweet (or savory) treat in time for opening on Christmas Day.

Epping’s on Eastside

264 Walton Ave.; 859-971-0240; eppingsoneastside.com.

Epping’s and sister restaurant, Coles 735 Main, are offering several of their favorite products for your holiday shopping. From Epping’s are its house made fig jam and Chef Nate’s Chili Rub. From Coles are its famous Steak Dust Rub and Tomato Chutney.

In addition, they are offering cocktail kits and bakery items such as beaten biscuits and Parker House Rolls (bakery items are special order only and must be picked up the day of purchase.) Also available for pick up the week of Christmas are hot chocolate bombs, artisan chocolate truffles and bourbon balls.

Items can be purchased at Epping’s only, and with any $100 purchase, you will receive a $20 gift card, good at either restaurant.

Kentucky Proud Store

2416 Palumbo Drive; 859-402-2364; kentuckyproudstore.com

To give that special someone a true taste of Kentucky, show your pride and order one of the baskets they can customize for gift giving. The store’s stock includes cheese and crackers, jams, jellies, honey, snack mixes, sauces, salsa, candy and fudge, all with the imprimatur of the Bluegrass State.

Prices range from $25 to $200, and they ship worldwide or you can pick it up at their Palumbo Drive location.

Holly Hill Restaurant Group

859-403-2040; shop.hollyhillandco.com

Ouita Michel and her group of restaurants are busier than the elves at the North Pole putting together five unique gift baskets featuring their products.

The Holiday Cookie Box from Midway Bakery ($36.99) contains two dozen cookies, four each of chocolate chip, sorghum, corn, Woodford, vanilla cranberry and sugar.

The Best Ever Sorghum Gift Box ($49.99) features two dozen sorghum cookies (made from locally grown cane); a 13-oz. bottle of Country Rock Sorghum; six sorghum suckers from the Ruth Hunt Candy Company and for an additional $20, a copy of Chef Ouita’s new cookbook “Just a Few Miles South – Timeless Recipes From our Favorite Places.”

The Holly Hill Signature Gift Box ($69.99) features the flavors of Michel’s restaurants: Windy Corner’s Super Spice; Wallace Station’s Bourbon Mustard and Sandwich Pickles; Smithtown Seafood’s Banana Pepper Mustard and Holly Hill Inn’s Apple Butter.

For those who’ve been really good, there’s the Cookbook Deluxe Gift Basket ($129.99) featuring the cookbook bundled with six notecards with illustrations from the book; cotton embroidered tea towel, a cotton canvas tote; pot holder; Honeysuckle Dreams soy candle created especially for Ouita, and two sorghum cookies.

Finally, for those who have been especially good or especially good at being naughty, there’s the Extra Special Kentucky Holiday Treats Gift Basket by Holly Hill ($179.99). They’ll be feasting through the New Year with two dozen holiday cookies; 8-oz. bag of spiced pecans; Edward’s Thin-Sliced Surryano ham (4 oz. package); Kenny’s Farmhouse Gouda Wedge; Wallace Station Sandwich Pickles; Smithtown Banana Pepper Mustard; Turtleback Ridge Gooseberry Chutney; Midway Bakery’s Rosemary Crackers and Classic Mini Jam Cake, and Michel’s cookbook.

To all these baskets you can add the beautifully crafted Holly Hill Inn Christmas ornament ($27.99).

Shipping is included for all baskets and is available to all 50 states.

Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream

1210 Manchester St.; 859-288-2176; crankandboom.com

This local company, cited by “Travel + Leisure Magazine” as having the best ice cream in Kentucky, has a complete gift guide for your shopping pleasure. Go to crankandboom.com/holiday-gift-guide to find such items as their Holiday Ice Cream Travel Pack ($65), a six pack of ice cream mixing and matching any of their 25 flavors. They ship nationwide.

DV8 Kitchen

867 S. Broadway #140; 859-955-0388; dv8kitchen.com

DV8 has created five gift boxes for online ordering, shipping or pickup (at the East End location only (594 E. Third Street, Suite 100).

Choose from the Jam Box (three different jams); Cinnamon Roll Box (six rolls); Cookies Box (a dozen cookies); Croissants (six croissants) and Bread Box (a loaf of sourdough bread and choice of jam). Prices range from $17.50 to $27.50.

Critchfield Meats Family Market

398A Southland Dr.; 859-276-4965; critchfieldmeats.com

For the carnivores on your list, Critchfield’s has several steak boxes available for purchase (ribeye, sirloin, strip and filet or an assortment). They can also make up a box with their jam cake, fruit cake, beaten biscuits and country ham on rolls. Check their website for customizing an order and pricing.

Good Food Co-op

455 Southland Dr.; 859-278-1813; goodfoods.coop

For the health conscious on your list, Good Foods Co-op offers three baskets: The Kentucky Proud Basket (Flag Fork Herb Farm Dip and Spread mixes; Kentucky Smokin’ Grill Spiced Honey Mustard; Bourbon Barrel Foods Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt and Bourbon Smoked Paprika; Rattlesnake Hill Farm Bourbon Garlic Glaze); a Local Sauces Basket (Kentucky’s Smokin’ Grill Original BBQ Sauce; Sav’s Piment Habanero Sauce; Bourbon Barrel Foods Worcestershire Sauce and Jesse’s Slooo Good Wing Sauce), and a Local Sweets Basket (Weisenberger Mills Lemon Poppyseed Muffin Mix; Crank & Boom Bourbon Marshmallows; C. W. Shumate Kentucky Blackberry Jam and Wells Made Co. Cashew & Maple Syrup Butter).

Prices for each basket item will be the same as if each item was individually ordered.

The Mousetrap

3323 Tates Creek Rd.; 859-269-2958; mousetrapky.com

The gourmet store will create a gift basket of any of their house made products such as chicken salad, pimento cheese, country ham salad and beer cheese. Baskets, ranging in price from $25 to $100, can be personalized by adding any of their shelved items. They ship anywhere in the Lower 48.

Joseph-Beth Booksellers

161 Lexington Green Cir B; 859-273-2911; josephbeth.com

Lexington’s favorite bookstore isn’t all about tomes this holiday season, unless it’s one of the books from their cooking section. You can pick a book and to it add Ruth Hunt candy, Weisenberger Mill mixes, pie fillings from Louisville’s Kentucky Bourbon Pie Company, Kentucky soup and burgoo mixes and Woodford Reserve Bourbon Balls – for both savory and sweet appetites. Prices from $20 to $100 and they ship nationwide.

J. Render’s Southern Table & Bar

3191 Beaumont Center Circle; 859-533-9777; jrendersbbq.com

This local favorite has four packages available. The Rub Package ($23.99) includes 16 oz. pork, brisket and chicken rubs. The BBQ Sauce Bundle ($26.99) features 13-oz. bottles of

Some Like it Hot; How Sweet It Is; Alabama White Sauce and Bourbon BBQ Sauce. The Rubs and BBQ Sauce Bundle ($45.99) has three rubs and four sauces, or you can go for the Whole Kit & Kaboodle ($79.99) with three rubs, four sauces, Render’s blanket, two T-shirts (short or long-sleeved) and two coozies.

Gift cards can be added to any basket, or they will personalize a basket just for you.

Chicken Salad Chick

254 E. Brannon Rd.; 859-279-4793; chickensaladchick.com

This Nicholasville spot is offering a basket containing a dozen mini croissants, a dozen round butter cream cookies and a choice of two pounds of either their chicken salad, egg salad or pimento cheese for $40. Call to order.

Sav’s Restaurant & Gourmet Ice Cream

630 E. Main St.; 859-785-1635; savslex.com

Sav’s holiday package includes two bottles of Piment Habanero Hot Sauce, one bottle of tangy vinaigrette salad dressing, a T-shirt, and a choice of a $15 gift certificate or a hat. Cost is $55 plus shipping.

Martine’s Pastries

400 E. Third St.; 859-231-9110; martinespastries.com

Imagine the surprised look on the face of your kid’s teacher, your best client or anyone you gift with one of the bakery’s signature towers. The bottom is your choice of pie (apple, pecan, pumpkin, chocolate buttermilk or cherry streusel); the middle is an assorted box of 25 mini cookies and the top is a sleeve of six macaroons. Prices vary.

I bet even Mrs. Claus couldn’t top this.

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill

3501 Lexington Road; Harrodsburg; 859-734-5411; shakervillageky.org

Shaker Village has four gift baskets. The Best of Spreads ($55) includes three spreads (blueberry, peach and cherry), handcrafted wooden butter knife, handcrafted wooden toast tong, and Ulster Weavers Tea Towel.

Relish the Holiday Gift Set ($60) has the tea towel, plus two types of pickles (dill and bread & butter) and two relishes (cranberry and corn).

The Breakfast Blend Gift Set ($75) features the tea towel, butter knife, toast tong and a handcrafted honey swirl for measuring honey, along with a pound of their honey and applesauce.

The Sweet & Saucy Gift Set ($85) includes an Ulster tea towel, a bottle of Pendennis Club’s Henry Bain Sauce, a bottle of Kentucky sorghum, an 8-ounce box of Woodford Reserve Bourbon Balls and Bourbon Country Kentucky Bourbon Cherries. Prices do not include shipping.

This story was originally published November 29, 2021 at 6:00 AM.