Photos by 360 West staff and courtesy of the makers
Photos courtesy of Snap-O-Razzo
Snap-O-Razzo “It’s hard to find a really good hot dog, so I decided to make them myself,” says Ralph Perrazzo, explaining why he devoted years of his professional life as a butcher and chef to create what’s emphatically America’s best hot dog. Snap-O-Razzo dogs — maple-smoked, plump and juicy — are the kind that snap just right when you bite into them and taste the way they used to taste when baseball meant Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron and a ballpark frank slathered in yellow mustard. No matter how you cook them — steamed, simmered, sizzled on the grill or plumped in the microwave — these are damn good hot dogs.
Four 1-pound packs from $55, snaporazzo.com
Planet Barbecue There’s a surprise tucked inside every gift box of Steven Raichlen’s barbecue: a taste of summer. The PBS host, James Beard Award-winning author and live-fire guru has stepped beyond cookbooks and TV shows with his own line of slow-smoked ’cue, packaged and shipped anywhere in the country through Crowd Cow (an expert at delivering gourmet goods). You can gift a picnic that includes a slab of Raichlen’s St. Louis-style pork ribs, grilled corn and smoky baked beans, all ready to heat and serve. Add a hunk of his low-and-slow brisket and a shaker or two of seasoning rubs if you really, really love the recipient.
Prices vary by selection, crowdcow.com
Photos courtesy of Planet Barbecue
Photo courtesy of Jasper Hill Farm
Jasper Hill Farm A gift from Vermont conjures images of sleepy farms, covered bridges and happy cows. Turns out that the milk from those cows also makes incredible artisan cheeses. Jasper Hill Farm will box up a selection of its award-winning small-batch cheeses and ship it for free this season. You can build your own gift box, but we’re partial to The Entertainer, a $149 collection that includes the Cabot Clothbound (a nutty, tangy English cheddar wrapped in cloth, then aged); ultra creamy Harbison (a spreadable, bloomy-rind cheese wrapped in spruce bark); a wheel of Willoughby (a pudgy, buttery, washed-rind round with notes of butter and boozy fruit); and half a dozen more delights. All of the cheeses are made at the Vermont creamery or ripened in its underground aging caves.
Prices vary, jasperhillfarm.com