Small Batch America From Goods & Makers
Small Batch America's guide to local goods
Think of Small Batch America as a road map of the country's best edible souvenirs.
There are no restaurant listings or drinking tours included. Instead, these "Goods & Makers" guides highlight local food products in Austin, Seattle, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, as selected by chefs, producers, entrepreneurs and writers in each city.
In Austin, chef Paul Qui plugs Jester King Craft Brewery's Farmhouse Ale, and coffee-scented lomo from charcuterie makers Salt & Time. The cofounder of Bearded Brothers, an Austin snack-food company, praises the raw confections from Great Bean Chocolate.
Headed to Seattle? The owner of Book Larder says not to miss fig, pistachio and fennel-seed chocolates from Petit Noirs, or gingery fermented carrots from Firefly Kitchens.
The site kicked off in January with an Indie Canteen event, a producers' market in San Francisco. The next Canteen will be in Nashville in mid-September, and a city guide is imminent.
Each guide has an unmistakable subtext: Leave room in your suitcase when visiting these cities.