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The Food Lover’s Guide to Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we know you’re racking your brain to figure out what to gift your significant other. Roses and chocolate are fine and dandy, but why not think about what your partner will actually use this year. We’ve already told you what to wear and which stylish gifts are sure to please your lady, but what if your boo loves eating and drinking above all? We found five perfect gifts for the obsessive gourmand that will rev his or her appetite to the fullest.

Mantry
MantryThis is no ordinary food-of-the-month club, folks. Mantry (The Modern Man’s Pantry) helps subscribers discover the absolute best American Artisan food and how to use it in their kitchens. Every month, the good people at Mantry scour the country, handpick the absolute best ingredients they can find and ship it to you in an American-made crate. The delicious bounty arrives with a manual including no BS recipes and a story to tell. Hungry yet? $75 per month, Mantry

The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook
The Gramercy Tavern CookbookOpened in 1994, NYC’s Gramercy Tavern has been one of America’s most esteemed restaurants for two decades with eight James Beard Awards under its belt. No big deal or anything. Even if you can’t make it there for Valentine’s Day, you can bring home 125 recipes that put farmer’s market ingredients in the spotlight and special behind-the-scenes stories from the iconic restaurant. $30, Amazon

Godinger Lava Cake Stand
Lava cake standIf your beau is a baker, she will be thrilled to receive something on which to display her work. Godinger’s Lava Round Cake Stand is designed with richly-textured metal so her sugary treats will shine. If she loves it, maybe she’ll give you some cake cake cake if you know what we mean. $49, MyHabit

The Meadow Salt Set 
The Meadow Salt SetThink about a world without salt. Everything we ate would taste terribly bland. As your gourmand partner knows, sodium chloride doesn’t just come in the form that sits in little glass shakers on diner countertops. Which is why a set of artisan salt is a great way to explore its versatility. The Meadow specializes in such gourmet treats, which is why we trust them to deliver only the best in their namesake salt set. $62, The Meadow

Le Creuset Signature Cast-Iron Dutch Oven
Le Creuset Signature Dutch OvenYou may not think pots and pans are a sexy enough gift for V-Day, but your foodie mate will beg to differ. Le Creuset makes some of the best cookware on the planet, so it’s kind of a no brainer. Red is classic and a festive choice for the holiday. And we can almost guarantee you’ll get some lovin’ after the Coq au Vin if you gift this gem. $280, Williams-Sonoma

Amanda Gabriele
Amanda Gabriele is a food and travel writer at The Manual and the former senior editor at Supercall. She can’t live without…
Try coffee from around the world, delivered to your door every month
A world map with a cup of coffee and a passport near it.

We all know of the benefits of coffee drinking so how about treating yourself to some of the world’s best coffee every month? That’s the thinking behind Atlas Coffee Club which is a coffee of the month club that’s curated to provide amazing micro-lot coffees. The subscription box contains more than just delicious coffee and it all costs from just $28 per month depending on the bundle you choose. If that’s grabbed your interest like a delicious cup of Joe should, keep reading as we’re here to tell you all about it.

Why you should sign up for Atlas Coffee Club
Everyone loves exciting mail and parcels and Atlas Coffee Club has tapped into that by providing more than ‘just’ good coffee. Each month, you’ll get a curation of the world’s best single origin coffee, along with a postcard from the country of the month, along with tasting notes and coffee history for each batch. If for some reason you don’t enjoy the coffee, you can get the next one free thanks to Atlas’s Coffee Match Guarantee.

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Cocktail classics: the Negroni and its millions of variations
Negroni

Of all the classic cocktails that are well-known in bars across the world, one stands out for being both complex fascinating to drink, but also incredibly easy to make: the negroni. This beloved cocktail from Italy consists of equal parts of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari, and it doesn't even need to be shaken. Traditionally made in a mixing glass, where it is stirred with ice to add water, in practice you can even add the ingredients to a tumbler glass with a large ice cube and stir it in the glass. That isn't really the technically correct way to make the drink, but it works well enough and means that you can make this cocktail with practically no equipment whatsoever.
The negroni is popular for its intense, bitter flavors and its bright red color, both of which come from the Campari. But the addition of gin gives the drink that heavy, boozy note with plenty of spicy juniper, and the sweet vermouth adds a touch of sweetness and more herbal notes. The result is a drink which packs an incredible flavor punch, and which tends to be either loved or hated (mostly depending on how you feel about Campari).
Thanks to its simplicity, the negroni lends itself to endless variations. While in truth I think it's hard to beat the classic version of this cocktail, if you're a long-time negroni drinker and you're looking to try something new – or maybe even if you're not a fan of the classic negroni but are interested in finding a version which does work for you – then we've got suggestions on some of the many variations you can try.

Experimenting with gins

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Gose-style beers are perfect for spring, and these are our favorites
This salty, tart, sour beer is perfect for spring.
Gose beer

As we mentioned in an earlier post, the Gose style might be the best beer choice for spring and summer drinking. This wheat beer is top-fermented and gets a second fermentation with lactobacillus bacteria. This gives it a tart, sour flavor profile similar to your favorite sour ale. The addition of coriander and sea salt adds some spice and salinity to this very unique, refreshing beer.

On top of that, this tart, salty thirst-quencher is usually between 4-5% ABV. This results in a crushable, salty, crisp beer you won’t be able to put down even between horseshoe throws or cornhole turns.
A strange, salty history

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