Best Foodie Gifts

10 delicious gifts for the Dallas foodie on your list

A discerning Dallas foodie knows that nothing is better than spreading the good word of good local food for the holidays. For that we’ve put together a list of tasty gifts perfect for your favorite gourmand.

Bandera Foods Chocolate-Covered Killer Pecans
Bandera, the company formed by chef duo George and Katie Brown, is best known for its spicy Killer Pecans. This year, they're offering two new treats: Killer Pecan Shortbread Cookies and Chocolate-Covered Killer Pecans. The original Killer Pecans are mammoth pecan halves coated in an addictive spicy mix and roasted until crisp. Imagine them baked into a rich sweet shortbread or enrobed in chocolate. Gift boxes range from $15.99 to $60.99. Call 214-366-9100.

Empire Bakery Pies
Every year, Dallas' best bakery releases a special lineup of treats for the holidays, which makes foodie gifting easy. For 2013, the pies include apple cranberry, pecan and pumpkin, ranging in price from $20 to $22. There are sweet breads including cranberry walnut and gingerbread, plus holiday stollen. Savory breads include challah, molasses wheat and sweet potato rolls ($5.95 for a package of nine).

Romanick Growler from Craft and Growler
Dallas' beer scene has gotten impressive in the last few years, but not all brews are available in stores. Gift some craft beer in a handmade ceramic growler that's practically a work of art. Not only will your recipient get some nice, cold Dallas beer, they'll have a container that’s beautiful enough to display in the living room. The 16-ounce version is $89.99, the 32-ounce one is $119.99 and the 64-ounce growler is $149.99.

Kate Weiser Chocolate Holiday Ornaments
By combining chocolate and holiday ornaments, Kate Weiser has taken two staples of the holiday season and created foodie perfection. They look good enough to hang from a tree, but odds are your gift won't make it more than a few seconds out of the box before there’s chocolate everywhere. You can find them at her pop-up shop in the lobby of the Hilton Anatole.

Herman Marshall Bourbon
North Texas liquor distilling hasn’t reached the level of craft beer, but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there. Herman Marshall is Dallas County’s first bourbon. It’s already won awards despite being around less than a year. It’s available at Spec’s, Goody Goody and Sigel’s.

Mölli Sauces
With Mölli sauces, created by Lakewood couple Leticia and Rodrigo Salas, you can gift the flavors of interior Mexico. The Morelos sauce, a sweet and savory blend with smoky chipotle, tomatillo and tomatoes, works well with fish; the Mexico City sauce has red ancho chiles and tomatillos for pairing with beef and pork. Pick them up at Deep Ellum Postal & Grocer, Rudolph’s Meat Market, Loco Cowpoke or White Rock Local Market.

Tart Bakery Macarons
This French-inspired bakery on Lovers Lane specializes in cakes, cake balls and other bite-size sweets. For the holiday season, the bakery is offering pumpkin spice tarts, chocolate-peppermint cake balls, a breathtaking chocolate-vanilla Buche de Noel, and macarons in flavors such as cranberry and salted caramel.

Sissy’s Southern Kitchen & Bar Canned Jellies
Sissy’s owner Lisa Garza-Selcer is selling her house-made canned jellies during the holiday season. The jellies come in both jalapeño and seasonal fruit flavors, and they are available in 4-ounce jars for $5 and 8-ounce jars for $8.

Luscher’s Post Oak Red Hots
The Grape’s Brian C. Luscher couldn’t find a hot dog that suited his Chicago taste buds, so he decided to make them himself. The handmade tubes are smoked with oak and stuffed with naturally raised, local meats for a sausage that blends the best of Chicago and Texas into each bite. Buy them at Green Grocer.

Wine Poste Gift Basket
The Design District wine shop has partnered with Scardello Artisan Cheese and Dude, Sweet Chocolate to create holiday sampler gift baskets. The wines are all top-ranked labels such as JZ Vizcarra, a beautiful red from Spain. A basket with two bottles of 90+ rated wine, chocolates, cheese, corkscrew and a $10 gift card is $99.99.

Empire Baking's holiday sweets include pecan pie.

Courtesy photo

Empire Baking's holiday sweets include pecan pie.

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There Goes the Biscuits

Mom-and-pop restaurant chain Biscuit Bar closes all Dallas locations

Photo courtesy of Biscuit Bar

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A Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant chain dedicated to biscuits is shutting down: The Biscuit Bar, a chain with six locations including five in the Dallas area, is closing them all. According to the owners, the closures are effective immediately.

Owners Jake and Janie Burkett say they were poised to sell off the chain to keep it afloat, but the sale fell through at the last minute.

The chain has five locations in the DFW area and one in Abilene. All locations are closed including these five in DFW:

Deep Ellum, at The Epic, the mixed-use project at 2550 Pacific Ave.
Plano, at The Boardwalk in Granite Park, at 5880 TX-121 #102B
Arlington, at Champions Park, at 1707 N. Collins St.
Fort Worth Stockyards, at Mule Alley, at 122 E. Exchange Ave.
Coppell, at 104 S Denton Tap Rd. #102

The couple blamed a variety of factors, including "rising costs, supply chain instability, and a commercial environment increasingly shaped by large institutional interests" which "created pressures no small business was prepared to endure."

The concept made its debut in April 2018 at The Boardwalk in Granite Park in Plano, before expanding in 2019 with a bang, targeting five locations all at once — a bold move for a new concept, especially one dedicated entirely to one food group. (They also opened a short-lived location on Hillcrest near SMU which is now home to D.L. Mack's.)

They were open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, offering biscuits, tots, and beer on tap — very ambitious — with a menu featuring both savory and sweet biscuit sandwiches made in house; tots, which could be customized; plus a bar with cocktails, local beer, cold brew coffee, and kombucha, all offered on tap.

Its most popular menu item, The Hoss, featured Southern fried chicken, bacon, Jack cheese, sausage gravy, and honey butter.

Their post says that by early 2025, they entered Chapter 11 — "not to walk away but to rebuild and secure a future for our employees," they say. "And for a time, it looked like that future was within reach. A respect restaurant group stepped forward, committed to acquiring and growing Biscuit Bar. The sale was structured, terms were agreed upon, and the closing was set for December."

Unfortunately, not everyone was on board.

"While many partners supported a workable plan, several key financial stakeholders did not," their post says. "This included a few landlords whose participation was essential. Their refusal to compromise or support a path forward ultimately made the sale impossible, leaving us with no legal or financil ability continue operating. And so just days before Christmas, we were forced into the most painful decision of our lives."

They've launched a GoFundMe for their employees and are encouraging their fans to contribute.

"If The Biscuit Bar ever served you a meal, became part of your routine, or gave you a place to gather with family and friends, we humbly ask you to consider donating or sharing this campaign," they say.

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