Playlist #19: Sprinkle Joy

Winter is just a month away, and for once, we feel prepared for the chilly season: our pantry is brimming with beans, our puffer coat awaits us in the hall closet, and we have our hot take on eggnog ready for when the subject inevitably comes up. For the record: any drink > eggnog. We said what we said.

What we’re not quite prepared for (yet!) is what holiday treats to give the deserving people in our lives. Luckily, we can look back on our food-centric diaries from the past 11 months to bring you this joyful list. Follow along for some of 2025’s most cherished places, items, and experiences we know your gift recipients will appreciate, too.

By: Kourtney Paranteau

1. Hometown Hero 

The Portland-born mini-French bistro, Canard, has flown West (and not just for the winter) with its new arrival in downtown Beaverton. The suburbanites of Oregon’s Washington County neighborhoods can now fulfill their craving for one of Canard’s signature dishes, like steam burgers, soft serve parfait or our personal favorite, Oeufs en Mayonnaise, without having to travel the distance.

Occupying what once housed a small theater, Canard’s new digs include a marquee fit for old Hollywood and a mezzanine where guests can perch for a duck’s eye view of the entire restaurant’s happenings. With this location being the biggest of their three outposts, we expect ourselves to waddle in on the regular. 

2. Long Distance Crush

The Jacobsen Salt Co. marketing team’s last field trip to the Big Apple had us mooning over two New York-based establishments.

a. For a daytime retail therapy session, you can find us at Big Night, the brightly lit kitchenware and pantry staple boutique shop of our hosting dreams. As colorful and inviting as a Pantone swatch book, Big Night is filled with everything from eye-catching espresso spoons and impossibly chic oyster platters to Crunchy, Roasty Glitter (for sprinkling/eating) and our collaborative infusion — Spicy Cocktail Salt! There’s sure to be something for everyone on your list.

b. For some nocturnal fun, we can’t think of a hipper spot than Bar Contra to whip out our Brat merch from last summer and try to act nonchalant. The tricky part will be maintaining our cool while world-class cocktails flood our tastebuds and edible masterpieces hit our bartop, like their signature stuffed chicken wings. If we lived in the city that never sleeps, we’d surely lose a lot of it posting up at Bar Contra and hoping to meet Bowan Yang.

3. Beverage Pairing

What are we sipping on? Dram's Le Dram! This elegant yet approachable alcohol-free alternative satisfies celebratory cravings with herbaceous and earthy flavors reminiscent of our favorite amaro spritzes. With three unique flavors (Palo Santo, Citrus Spritz, and Hair of the Dog), we’ll be toasting with these to ensure we’re feeling merry and bright at *all* of the holiday parties we’re attending this season.

4. Pantry Pal 

While Joseph, Oregon, is quite a trek (5.5 hours!) from our home base in Portland, establishments like the Jennings Inn and Arrowhead Chocolates make it worth the drive. Thankfully, when it comes to sweet treats from the northeastern corner of our state, we don’t have to endure a lengthy road trip every time we want to indulge. The carefully crafted chocolate truffles from Arrowhead Chocolates can be ordered online and vary from smaller, modest boxes to a dizzying deluxe assortment that should last until Easter, but will realistically disappear before the ball drops for the New Year.
 

5. Reading Material

True to form for winter baking, you’ll find us worshiping at the altar of Christina Wood’s Pastry Temple. The Seattle-based, self-taught pastry chef and owner of Temple Pastry talks through the intimidating intricacies of laminated doughs, puff pastries, brioches, and more. It inspires readers to craft the likes of bold, flavorful bakes (think buckwheat palmiers, gochujang babka, and Chinese five-spice kouign amann) with Wood’s descriptively thorough recipes and frame-worthy photos, making this debut cookbook an essential volume that we’ll be gifting all of our pastry pals.

6. Merch

Do we already have *a lot* of tote bags? Of course — but we promise Joodooboo’s is the gem of the entire bunch. Not only did this Oakland-based Korean restaurant serve us one of the best lunches of 2025 (we’re still reminiscing about those acorn noodles and homemade tofu), but they also convinced us to leave with one of their farmers market-ready totes. Featuring an adjustable loop intended to hold a bouquet, our household vases have been full ever since our visit to the bay. Like all trendy hotspots, Joodooboo’s online store also has a baseball cap and hoodie for those less thrilled by twill, and if you’re lucky enough to enjoy a meal at this truly one-of-a-kind restaurant, they also offer wool stuffies in the shape of their adorable anthropomorphized tofu mascots.

7. Equipment

If you live in Portland, Oregon, Steelport’s knives are already a trusted kitchen staple, but now, they also make—drumroll please—cutting boards! Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the new SteelCore Cutting Board makes for the perfect sidekick for their line of heavy-duty knives. It’s sleek with a walnut grain exterior on one side, making it handsome enough to leave on your counter as decor, but it’s also armed with a sturdy steel interior and composite side with a juice groove for versatility. They’ve thought of it all. 

8. Entertainment

This section is where we usually highlight shows like “Selena and Chef” or swoon over a food-centric podcast, film, or game, but this year, we’re recommending something extra special for the home cooks on your holiday list: perusing the stacks of vintage cookbooks and magazines.

While we’ll always be a sucker for brand-new selections from our favorite chefs and restaurants (<3), we also have a newfound appreciation for previously loved cookbooks, including throwbacks featuring whimsical illustrations and retro food photography of long-forgotten dishes gilded with unironic kitsch. Plus, this impromptu treasure hunt is an inexpensive way to spend an afternoon and the perfect way to discover unique gifts.

Some places, like Vivienne in Portland, Oregon, sell both new and used books for one-stop shopping, but you can opt for thrift stores and online catalogs, too. 

9. One of Our Own

We can’t complete the list without the pièce de résistance of sprinkling joy: our Holiday Flake Salt Jar & Cellar. We hope Santa’s elves made enough of this duo for everyone on our “nice” list. Featuring three coastal-inspired colorway options, it’s hard not to want to collect them all. We’re leaving Labubus behind in 2025 and projecting that salt cellars (filled with bright, flaky sea salt) are the hot accessories of 2026.