Hi! I live in Boulder, CO but once upon a time, I lived in the Bay Area. First in the East Bay for several years before moving to SF. Long story short, I met this woman (my 8 year old sons friends grandma) from the East Bay. We talked and talked about food for two hours straight. We walked down memory lane together by reminiscing about everything from Berkeley Bowl to The Cheese Board to Top Dog. She moved here to be closer to her grandkids.
I just got invited to her 70th birthday party and wanted to buy her something from the Bay Area. T-shirts are out as I donât know her size. Sheâs also not a very close friend so something simple and not too pricey.
So far the best I could come up with is fudge sauce from Fentons.
I thought about crab also but, considering OP doesnât have a close relationship and has a budget I eliminated that. Anything that has to be temp controlled is going to cost plenty to ship. Iâm trying to think of some kind of condiment that isnât temp controlled. ???
Chocolate? Scharffen Berger used to be manufactured in Berkeley or Albany or Emeryville. I think they moved production to another site but I think the store is still there, and despite my apprehension when they got bought up by Hersheyâs, itâs still one of my favorites. Their milk chocolate bars are some of the best treats ever (since itâs about 45%, which is more than some âso-called darkâ chocolate. And their 62% semisweet makes fabulous chocolate chunks for cookies/brownies.
Itâs been years, but there was also a place in, I think, Emeryville called âCharlesâ Chocolatesâ. This is more a confectioner, rather than a chocolate maker. The truffles and so forth were quite good, but I remember being just helpless over their triple coated roasted almonds. I think it was a thin layer of really dark, almost-burnt caramel, then dark chocolate and then coco powder and coarse sea salt.
SWOON
If theyâre still there and they still do these, get her some. and you some. And me some.