Your dad, who keeps changing his mind about his favorite kind of wine. Your brother, who’s using Educated, your gift to him last year, as a coaster. Your best friend, who won’t buy clothes unless she can try them on first. It’s hard to find the perfect gift for everyone during the holiday season. Luckily, we live in a place that’s brimming with unique experiences that can make for exciting gifts for all kinds of folks. Here are some ideas that even the pickiest person can enjoy.
For the foodie: an Ohlone dinner
Cafe Ohlone is a semi-permanent restaurant hidden behind University Press Books in Berkeley. Founded by Louis Trevino and Vincent Medina, the venue hosts weekly lunches and teas, dinners twice a month, and brunch on weekends. Trevino and Medina grew up in different Ohlone tribes, and together, they aim to revive and strengthen their heritage through authentic food. Dinners usually begin with a lecture and a gratitude prayer, and everything on the menu is indigenous to the San Francisco and Monterey areas.
All offerings on the menu are made with ingredients that would have been attainable in the traditional Ohlone world before the Ohlone Tribe had contact with outside forces. The restaurant’s specialties include soft-boiled quail eggs and acorn-flour pancakes. Brunch is priced at $75 per head and dinner at $120; reservations need to be made ahead of time. Their gift certificates never expire and can be redeemed for any of their thoughtful meals.
2430 Bancroft Way (Berkeley) | makamham.com
For the experimental friend: the ultimate acid-blotter art trip
At the Institute of Illegal Images, located in the lower level of Mark McCloud’s Victorian house in the Mission, you’ll find the world’s largest collection of acid-blotter art from the ’60s to the ’90s. The museum has been raided multiple times by the FBI for possession of LSD but continues to survive on the grounds that since the blotters have been exposed to oxygen and UV light, their psychotropic chemicals have been neutralized. More than 33,000 blotter sheets make up this niche genre of quirky art that includes iconic prints of Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, and Purple Jesus. A visit to the institute — an ideal gift for the friend who wants to relive the sunshine era of San Francisco — is free; you just need to make an appointment.
3466 20th Street (San Francisco) | blotterbarn.com
For the stressed out: oxygen therapy
Holistic Hyperbarics is an Oakland spa offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). This alternative therapy involves breathing 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber and has been proven to heal numerous conditions, including chronic pain, migraines, fertility, and Lyme disease, and aid surgical recovery. You can gift complimentary consultations, an introductory session with a guided dive for $250, or a multi-session discounted package. There are community-worker discounts and the option to rent a chamber for private home use.
5764 Lowell Street, Suite 8 (Oakland) | hh-bayarea.com
For someone with a startup idea: a dining-club membership
Nommery combines networking and fine dining in San Francisco. A Prime membership, at $19/month, is the ideal gift for someone looking to make new connections in the Bay. This gives them access to exclusive dinners and brunches with Fortune 500 executives, VCs, founders, and prominent artists at Michelin-star restaurants and other popular spots in the city. Some of their most popular dinners have featured the founders of Hint Water, Rotten Tomatoes, Caviar, and Nomiku. You can even create and host your own event at a restaurant of your choice.
For the whole family: roller skating at a church
Built in 1898, the Sacred Heart Church in the Fillmore is a Romanesque building with a giant bell tower. The iconic church survived the quakes of 1906 and 1989 and served as a hub for social activism in the early ’70s. In 2004, David G. Miles Jr. (a.k.a. the Bay Area skating evangelist) and his family rented the space and converted it into a roller-skating rink that was rechristened as the Church of 8 Wheels. Every weekend, the church turns into a roller-skating party that’s open to children and adults. For $10 to enter and $5 to rent skates, you can skate to disco, soul, and pop music played in front of a neon-lit altar.
554 Fillmore Street (San Francisco) | churchof8wheels.com
For the DIYer: a tool-lending library hookup
The Berkeley Public Library’s South Branch is home to a tool-lending library for Berkeley residents over the age of 18. DIYers can check out hammers, ladders, rakes, shovels, and even cement mixers. You can borrow items free of charge and check out up to 10 items at a time. How do you turn this handy service into a gift? Hook it up and assist your DIYer with that furniture-restoration project they’ve been wanting to do for years.
1901 Russell Street (Berkeley) | berkeleypubliclibrary.org
For the noodle-obsessed: an intimate ramen pop-up
Hosted in a living room, Noodle in a Haystack is a ramen pop-up in Daly City created by husband-and-wife team Clint and Yoko Tan, who were World Ramen Grand Prix finalists in 2017. Their five-course meal includes appetizers and dessert. Get a gift certificate ($68 per person) as a present for ramen-loving friends, and sign up for their monthly newsletter to nab a spot. There’s often a long wait list; the self-taught ramen chefs limit the experience to 11 guests a few times each month.
For anyone adventurous: a lighthouse vacation
Gift a forever city dweller a picturesque island vacation that’s only a 10-minute boat ride from downtown San Francisco. The East Brother Light Station, located in Point Richmond, is a historic lighthouse that doubles as a bed-and-breakfast where you can have a quick holiday and enjoy gorgeous views of the Bay, the San Francisco skyline, Mount Tamalpais, and the Marin coastline. Rooms start at $315 per night and include parking at the harbor, the boat ride to and from the island, hors d’oeuvres with complimentary champagne, a tour of the lighthouse, a four-course dinner with complimentary wines, and a full breakfast.
1900 Stenmark Drive (Richmond) | ebls.org
