There’s nothing like the familiar taste of a favorite food to evoke happy memories. We’ve put together a list of delicious options for every meal that can be mailed directly to your house, thanks to the miracle of dry ice and overnight shipping. Whether you or your lucky recipient is craving an authentic New York breakfast spread, North Carolina ribs, heritage grits from South Carolina, or fresh oysters from Puget Sound — you can send a taste of home with these gifts from Corcoran markets around the country.
NEW YORK CITY
Ess-a-Bagel and Russ & Daughters
It’s true that the bagel scene has improved around the country, even in former bagel deserts. Still, there’s nothing quite like the real New York deal. You can order by the dozen, with or without lox, from Ess-a-Bagel or Russ and Daughters, with the possibility of adding on a babka or American caviar from the latter.
Ess-a-Bagel: 12 bagels of your choice (plus six free additional bagels), one of pound Nova lox, and one pound of schmear for $149.95 at Goldbelly.
Russ & Daughters: 12 bagels, a half-pound of smoked salmon (three varieties), and one pound of schmear for $195 at Goldbelly.
THE HAMPTONS
Ina Garten’s Coconut Cake
Ina “store-bought-is-fine” Garten will happily absolve you from any guilt about ordering one of her cakes directly from the internet. Garten’s Barefoot Contessa in the Hamptons closed for good in 2003, but longtime customers who still remember her coconut cupcakes can now order an entire coconut cake. Goldbelly also offers Garten’s chocolate cake or carrot cake, as alternatives for coconut haters.
6″ cake for $99.95 at Goldbelly.
CHICAGO
Lou Malnati’s Pizza
There’s no deep dish like Chicago deep dish and Lou Malnati’s is the perfect gift for those who are enjoying the winter elsewhere than in the Chicago cold. Orders come with two, four or six frozen pizzas (each serves two), in choice of cheese, sausage, pepperoni, veggie, spinach, or crustless.
Starting from $79.99 at Tastes of Chicago.
SOUTH FLORIDA
Joe’s Stone Crab
Feeling crabby? A “Claws for Celebration” package from this South Beach institution delivers the goods with a mallet, bibs, cocktail forks, and the obligatory mustard sauce. Just choose your claw size — there’s medium, large, or jumbo — and bring your own cracking board.
Starting from $224.95 at Goldbelly.
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Ridge Island Groves
Honeybells are rare citrus fruits, generally harvested once a year in January. Now, this Florida specialty is available to everyone. They’re a hybrid between a Dancy tangerine and a Duncan grapefruit, resulting in a tangelo (tangerine plus pomelo, get it?) that’s shaped like a bell and juicier than any orange you’ve ever tasted.
$61.90 per tray at Ridge Island Groves.
CALIFORNIA
It’s-It
It’s the San Francisco treat that you can now store in your freezer for year-round enjoyment. A scoop of ice cream smushed between two oatmeal cookies and then dipped in dark chocolate has been enjoyed by San Franciscans since 1928. This set of 42 individually wrapped ice cream sandwiches includes vanilla, mint, cappuccino, strawberry, chocolate, pumpkin, and six Chip-ITs sandwiches.
42-sandwich sampler for $159.95 at Goldbelly.
HAWAII
Honolulu Fish Company
Honolulu Fish Company founder Wayne Samiere is a marine biologist committed to protecting Pacific ecosystems and promoting sustainability in fishing practices. Samiere and his team personally inspect each day’s catch to select the best eco-friendly, exclusively hook-caught Hawaiian fish to ship to the mainland.
Chiisai Mini Sashimi Pak (two pounds Hawaiian Ahi Ultra and three pounds of sashimi King Salmon) for $439 at Honolulu Fish Co.
DENVER
Elevation Meats
This Denver purveyor of gourmet cured meats starts with humanely raised heritage-breed pigs and then transforms the pork into the tastiest charcuterie around. Elevation is known for their many types of salami, including their black truffle sea salt salami and nduja, a smoky, spreadable salami.
Starting from $11.99 at Elevation Meats.
NORTH CAROLINA
King’s BBQ
North Carolina barbecue reigns supreme for many barbecue lovers. You can sample all of King’s BBQ’s porky favorites with this combination package, which includes hand-chopped pork, ribs, Brunswick stew, coleslaw, potato salad, and hush puppies.
King’s Carolina Oink Sampler for $69.95 at King’s BBQ.
GEORGIA
The Grey
Mashama Bailey, the twice James Beard-awarded chef of Savannah‘s The Grey, mixes southern cooking with influences from Greece, Ethiopia, and Trinidad, and her biscuits are regarded as some of the best. Each frozen 12-pack comes with bacon jam, a seasonal one, and pimento cheese.
Buttermilk Biscuits with the Fixins’ for $119.95 at Goldbelly.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Heritage Grits
Though shrimp and grits have migrated from the home kitchen to become a Charleston restaurant staple, it’s still one of the easiest dishes to make yourself. South Carolina farmers have been devoted in recent decades to reviving heritage grains, including growing and milling some of the best corn grits in the country. These three South Carolina mills that sell their grits directly to the public, as well as to restaurants around the country:
$3.00 per one-pound bag of yellow or white stone-ground grits at Adluh.
$27.00 for a sampler gift box (three 1.5-pound bags) at Marsh Hen Mill.
$6.50 and up per 12 oz. bag at Anson Mills.
NEW JERSEY
Pat LaFrieda
Pat LaFrieda is one of the best-known butchers in the country — their meats are called out by name on the menus of countless NYC restaurants. Like many of New York’s best things, it all comes from Jersey (the company, seeking more space, moved to North Bergen in 2010). Famous for their burger blends, Pat LaFrieda sells four types of patties direct to consumers: the original, dry-aged, short-rib, and beef brisket.
Starting from $13.07 (two 6 oz. patties) at Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors.
CONNECTICUT
Garden Catering
Nuggets might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think about Connecticut, but for many former Nutmeggers, there’s a palpable ache for the nuggets and potato cones (#IYKYK) of this Fairfield County favorite. Garden Catering’s addictive morsels can be shipped direct to the door, along with fries, special seasoning, honey mustard, and even the signature to-go bags.
World Famous Special (two pounds of chicken or cauliflower nuggets, condiments, fries, potato cones, and the bags) for $104.95 at Goldbelly.
TEXAS
Pearl Snap Kolache
While Texas barbecue is ubiquitous, kolaches are a food speciality of the Lone Star State that’s hard to find beyond its borders. Started by two kolache superfans, Pearl Snap Kolache ships sweet (apple, cream cheese, apricot) and savory (sausage or sausage and cheese — technically klobasniky) variants of the coveted Czech pastries, a highlight of many a Texan’s road trip memories.
16 kolaches (sweet or savory) for $94.95 at Goldbelly.
WASHINGTON
Taylor Shellfish Farms
Share the briny tang of Pacific Northwest oysters at your next holiday party with Taylor’s Raw Bar Experience. The box offers up three types of oysters — Totten Inlet Virginicas, Taylor Pacific Petites, and Olympia oysters — along with a shucking knife, shucking gloves, mignonette sauce, Tabasco sauce, and a lemon. The Taylor family has been farming oysters since 1890 in the Puget Sound and they harvest the oysters to order, a direct path from tide to table.
Taylor’s Raw Bar Experience (45 oysters+ implements) for $150 at Taylor Shellfish Farms.
TENNESSEE
Hattie B’s
There’s no consensus about where to find the best hot chicken in Nashville. Some Nashvillians are loyal to long-time institutions like Prince’s, while others prefer the newer joints that have become popular. In fact, Goldbelly’s co-founder and CEO, Joel Ariel (and Vanderbilt alum) was inspired by his hot chicken memories to start a company so he could bring his cravings to his doorstep. Currently, Goldbelly ships direct from Hattie B’s — always a top pick on ‘best of’ lists — with six different kits, ranging from “Mild” all the way to “Shut the Cluck Up!!!”