Opinion: Gifts for food lovers tempt taste buds

For the epicurean on the Christmas list, consider the tasting menu specials offered by Gallery Bistro in Springfield or Pairings in Nixa.

Peter Tinson, owner of Gallery Bistro, 221 E. Walnut St., recommends the Chef’s Dinner for Four.

“People will come in and they’ll have someone that they know is very food-focused and they’ll get a Chef’s Dinner for Four,” Tinson said. “You have it here at the restaurant, but it’s five courses, wine included.” The courses are the chef’s choice.

“It’s kind of like a tasting menu,” he said. “It’s $200 for four people, so it’s pretty reasonable.”

Pairings, at 381 Guin Road in Nixa, also offers a tasting menu special in the form of its Discovery Meal.

The Pairings Discovery Meal runs $65 per person. It is a five-course meal accompanied with appropriate wines, said Kernan Myers, restaurant manager. The concept behind Pairings, which opened earlier this year, is to pair each course with a wine chosen specifically to complement the fare.

Pairings also offers gift certificates in any amount, as does Gallery Bistro. In fact, Gallery Bistro has been known to offer open-ended gift certificates, but therein lies a tale.

“About two or three years ago, we had a gentleman who had a very good client and he wanted to give him a gift certificate for the restaurant because this is his favorite restaurant,” Tinson said. “So he said, “No dollar value, I just want you to make up a nice certificate, just come in, dinner for two, whatever they want, and then just call me and I’ll take care of the bill.’”

The couple came in as scheduled, and “They racked up about $600 in champagne and wine and food,” Tinson said, including a bottle of Dom Perignon.

It all turned out fine, and in fact, the gift-giver thought the situation was quite funny.

Lest gift givers be deterred from an open-ended gift, Tinson added that it’s very unusual for someone to go wild on an open-ended certificate.

“That is the only time that has ever happened,” he said, “and most times when people get an open-ended gift certificate, they’re actually more frugal than they would normally be because they don’t want to abuse it.”

Of course, gift certificates are a popular holiday choice at many restaurants.

Suze Dunville Powell, owner of Nearly Famous Deli and Pasta House, says she gets orders for gift certificates from all over the country – from Washington, D.C., to Ohio to Las Vegas to San Francisco.

But a gift that also adds convenience is Nearly Famous’ line of credit.

“People will buy someone a line of credit here, and they can just come through and sign their ticket,” Powell said. “It’s like having a prepaid charge account.”

The gift recipient can dine in, or call in an order, come through the drive-through with the kids in the car and pick it up. There’s no minimum amount for the line of credit.

Nearly Famous also sends food gifts, such as cakes and peppered hams. A favorite gift regardless of time of year is picnic baskets, often given by husbands or wives to their spouses.

Powell noted that she and her staff are flexible when it comes to gifts. “We’re in the ‘we can do it’ business,” she said.

While Maria’s Mexican Restaurant, 406 South Ave., doesn’t have an advertised holiday special, it does experience an interesting holiday phenomenon: the annual tamale frenzy.

The holiday season is tamale season, and Maria’s patrons buy them by the dozen, said kitchen manager Brian Price. He isn’t sure why, but he has some ideas.

“Some use them for entertaining, some freeze them,” Price said. “I think they just use them for parties at their house.”

Maria’s offers gift certificates of any size; however, Price said he recommends the $20 gift certificate.

“When we have somebody with a $50 gift certificate, we say that thing is going to last forever, because you really don’t spend too much when you come in here,” Price said.

Clarissa French is editor of Springfield Business Journal.