Hey everyone, I want to thank you so much for all your feedback about my essay last week about the dire situation we find our local restaurants in, and what we need to do to help and show up for them since our federal government isn’t. I really appreciate all the amplification of my piece, and some of you tagged me and sent pictures of your takeout, which made me SO HAPPY, you have no idea. Keep it up!
Remember when I suggested you do your holiday shopping at local restaurants this year? Well, I’m about to make that super-easy for you to do: today’s column features the announcement of the first Hopper Holiday Restaurant Gift Bag! Imagine a gift bag packed full of some of the best independent restaurant products, chosen by yours truly, from hot sauces to cookies to preserves to pasta. It’s looking like 17 amazing products, folks. The Hopper Holiday Restaurant Gift Bag is going to launch tomorrow, read below for details about this limited and last-minute offer that is designed to help support our local restaurants and celebrate all the culinary magic they make. Thank you for your interest and support!
More culinary radness: if you follow me on Instagram (@tablehopper), you may have seen my first Club Feast Pick of the Month today! I’m grateful for their sponsorship the next three months as I scout out the best dishes on their delivery platform (which operates differently than the big third-party apps) and highlight my favorite finds. Read more below, and take $20 off your first order with code HOPPER20.
Since I’m catapulting myself into full-tilt holiday mode over here with this gift bag, this is the last newsy newsletter of the year (of course, I’ll be doing something around the New Year…but let’s just say “the bore” is going to be quite different this year).
Do you smell the latkes and holiday spices in the air? I’m doing hella daily updates on Instagram in my Stories about holiday meals, treats, and more—don’t miss the goodies. Shop local! Check my Highlights for recaps, including Holiday! and Hanukkah. And the commercial Dungeness crab season is supposed to start on December 23rd, so there’s that. (YAY.) I will also be starting a New Year’s Eve Highlight soon (because: 2021!). If you can order any holiday meals from our restaurants, that would be amazing and so appreciated. Please look out for the small ones.
I’m also going to be pausing the On the Fly by tablehopper podcast so we can take a season break. Producer Lola and I need to regroup, and I obviously have a bunch of stuff I’m working on right now. However, we will be airing the final episode with Charles Chen of Basuku shortly. (With all the upheaval over outdoor dining being canceled, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly the right moment last week.)
Okay, gang. You’re going to hear from me tomorrow about the Hopper Holiday Restaurant Gift Bag, but otherwise, I’m signing off. Hang tough, stay safe, be kind, be generous, and let’s do our best to get through this together. I know our holiday season is rough in many ways, and so many are experiencing terrible loss and grief, but try to find some moments of joy and gratitude if you can. We are resilient. We are strong. We need to stay safe.
With love and gratitude for all your support and readership. ~Marcia AKA Champers the elf
A beautiful mural from the Paint the Void Project. It says, “May you be safe.” Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, Dec 15 2020
