Jason Wilson's choices for foodie gifts

I WAS ASKED TO come up with a list of gifts for the foodies in your life. People like me. I know, I know, we're insufferable snobs who are impossible to buy for. But we're your friends and relatives and you love us, so you have to buy something.

I am not, unfortunately, much of a gadget person. If I get one more gimmicky corkscrew - like, say, the Bill Clinton corkscrew I received in which the screw extends from his crotch - I'm going to scream. My old, basic double-hinged waiter's corkscrew works just fine, thank you. And no, I don't want fancy 12-ounce "martini" glasses - simple, classic 4.5-ounce cocktail glasses from the local bar supply store work just fine, thank you.

For me, the best gifts are often just the food or drink itself. A nice bottle of something rare and complex. A nice box of something sweet. A nice hunk of something delicious.

And if you can't find anything acceptable on this list, please just know that we'll always just take a gift certificate to Vetri. Or Tinto. Or Good Dog. Or wherever.

Happy holidays.

For the fancy chocoholic

There are lowbrow chocoholics (like in a "Cathy" cartoon) and then there are discerning chocoholics. You know there's one of the latter on your list. As if Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran don't show off enough talents in their 13th Street food empire, they also make the best artisan chocolates in the city, sold under the Marcie Blaine label (16-piece Holiday Collection, $29.95). They use local, organic cream and butter, as well as seasonal produce, herbs and honey. And they boast cute little images of Philadelphia icons such as LOVE, the Liberty Bell and our skyline. The raspberry ganache, concord grape-balsamic, blood orange-olive oil, and amazing peppermint chocolates are just a few favorites.

Marcie Blaine, 108 S. 13th St., 215-546-8700, www.marcieblaine.com.

For all your cheesy friends

Sure, everyone eats gourmet cheese and salami these days. But surely some of your foodie friends are so over the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the sopressata. Why not give them some all-American alternatives? DiBruno Bros. is featuring the famed aged Vella Dry Jack from Sonoma, Calif. ($17.99/pound) - a nutty, fruity and mature cheese comparable to the best Reggiano. And from Olli, a wonderful, authentic salumeria in Virginia, one of four different salami ($9.99 each). It may be just as good as the stuff imported from Italy.