Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Don’t Forget About Shopping Locally for Unique Holiday Food Gifts

All About Food | December 16th, 2022

By Rick Gion

rickgion@gmail.com

You can find all sorts of kitchen gadgets, gizmos and goodies at just about every big-box store these days. Heck, with Amazon, a home cook can become a collector in no time at all. However, it’s much more fun to take a local tour of some of the specialty stores around the area, in search of unique gifts.

Right down the road from my apartment building is the Asian & American Market. This place serves up some of the most unique food items available in the region. It’s an international experience.

At this market, you’ll find many trendy items hyped on those foodie TV shows like chili crisp and spicy packaged ramen. As I’ve been writing this column, I’ve been munching on shrimp chips purchased there. Sounds fishy, but they are delicious.

I have a few tips for gift shopping at A & A. First, be sure to take a trip down the dried noodle and sauce aisles. If you’re looking for dinnerware, go to the southeast portion of the store. It’s filled with large soup bowls for pho and ramen. There’s also some neat round cutting boards and Thai-style mortar and pestles in that area. Go to the west side of the store if you like making Indian food. It’s a rice and spice wonderland.

A & A will soon be moving just a few blocks west on Fargo’s Main Avenue. The new supermarket will be an improvement, and I’m hoping the parking lot will be too.

One of the frequent stops for me for kitchen gear is Creative Kitchen in West Acres Mall. It's the region's high-end culinary store and the place to go to try out top-notch chef’s knives. Creative Kitchen is locally owned and has served the area since 1976. The store carries all sorts of gadgets and gizmos, many of which will help improve your cooking game. The items sold there will last for years – trust me on that. I’ve had a German knife set from Creative Kitchen for nearly 25 years.

The recent addition of a cheese case is one more reason to make a trip out to the mall. Creative Kitchen also carries specialty coffee, olive oil and vinegars. All of those things make great gifts for the holidays.

Another great place to check out for kitchen gear is Culinex. They carry items for commercial kitchens, but the home cook can also shop there. Once I realized that, I became a regular customer. The prices are actually pretty decent, too. Kitchen equipment can get expensive so it’s a good option to have.

Culinex carries industrial bowls, containers, cutting boards, knives, mixers, pots and pans, scales, thermometers, and useful utensils.

Most restaurants around town use items from Culinex. There’s a reason why. If you’re cooking for large groups, Culinex should be a frequent stop for you.

Last but not least is Tochi Products, quite unique and has been a Downtown Fargo hidden gem for decades. Every time I go in there it feels like it belongs in some rural California town.

Tochi carries all sorts of fun stuff for that food lover in your family such as coffee, hot sauce, European cookies, ethnic sauces, teas, and the tasty Terroir Chocolate from Fergus Falls. I buy all sorts of organic dried fruit and nuts there, and the secret of my rocking risotto is Tochi’s arborio rice. While there, be sure to look at the spice selection in back of the check-out counter.

For food-related gifts this Holiday Season, be a local tourist and go check out what’s available and offered here. It’s a lot more fun and interesting than being a dull keyboard cruiser.

_______________________________________

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Asian and American Market, 1015 Main Ave, Fargo

Creative Kitchen, West Acres Mall

Culinex, 1802 1st Ave S, Fargo

Tochi Products, 1111 2nd Ave N, Fargo

Rick Gion administers a Facebook group page called “Fargo-Moorhead Eats” that’s dedicated to the area’s great cooks and cuisine. Check it out, join, and feel free to post items about your local culinary adventures and home cooking.




Recently in:

Proposed Bills Could Take Books off Library ShelvesBy Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu The passing of ND House Bill 1205 and ND Senate Bill 2360, which would prevent sexually explicit books from being in public…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comHPR chats with a local legendThe following interview was done in February of 2016, just a few months after Mr. Josef Olivieri's 90th birthday. We're sorry to hear of his passing at the age of 97 on…

Tuesday, March 21, 6:30pmZandbroz Variety, FargoAuthor of “Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land” Taylor Broby will discuss the important role libraries play in their communities as sanctuaries of acceptance. He will…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Who on Earth would ever want to move to North Dakota?Let’s talk about the left hand and the right hand. Or, more correctly, let’s focus on the right hand, being as there is no left in ND…

By Ed Raymond  fargogadfly@gmail.comHas Christianity Gone Bankrupt Because of Evangelicals, Stupidity, and the Vatican?The word “bankruptcy” refers to money because…

Well shiver me timbers. After weeks of sampling some of the finest drinks in F-M from more bars than we could shake a belaying pin at, the results of High Plains Reader’s 6th Annual Cocktail Showdown are in! For nine weeks,…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comWhen thinking of popular sandwiches associated with the Upper Midwest, the sloppy joe immediately comes to mind. But let’s not forget the sandwich with a spicy side – the taco grinder. It’s a…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Upon discovering the music of Arkansas-based musician Nick Shoulders, there are a couple of things that come to mind. At first listen it’s no secret that his sound is a celebration of past music…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comOn Saturday, March 25, filmmaker Mike Flanagan returns to the Fargo Film Festival, where “Absentia,” his debut feature, made its world premiere in 2011. This time, he will be joined by his…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIf you’ve ever driven down the Enchanted Highway, the 32-mile ribbon of road connecting Regent to Gladstone in western North Dakota, home to the world’s largest salvaged metal sculptures,…

By Jessica M. Hawkesjmhawkes84@gmail.comIt wasn’t long after the founding of the railroad and river town of New Rockford that entertainment venues started to put down their own roots. Its population bolstered by booms of nearby…

By Jan Syverson  Jan.r.Syverson@gmail.comFor the past 30 years live, stand-up comedy has had a place in the Fargo Moorhead area, Starting with…

By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comSpring is here (mostly), and our area is buzzing with people eager to get back out and about -- many newly vaccinated and feeling a bit safer. Partnering with Jade Events, Fargo Brewing is just…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Ken and Alice Christiansonsubmit@hpr1.com HB 1332 is currently before the North Dakota legislature. The bill proposes to permit social workers to use a discredited treatment method to convert the sexual orientation of gay and…