Spring Checklist: Food Finds

✅ MERKAZ’S HOUSE-MADE GAZOZ

One of three new CookNSolo restaurants, Merkaz serves house-made gazoz, a classic Israeli soft drink that combines fresh-squeezed juice and syrups with sparkling water. Currently, it’s available in four flavors: hibiscus grapefruit, celery coriander, lemon cardamom and espresso twist.Merkaz, 1218 Sansom St., merkazphilly.com

PEANUT BUTTER PHOTO BY PIXELSHOT@stock.adobe.com

✅ BUTTERSCOTCH PEANUT BUTTER FROM NUTTY NOVELTIES

Telford-based Nutty Novelties butterscotch peanut butter is subtly sweet and great in smoothies, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, or with fruit. $3.99–$4.99 for an 8-ounce jar. Find it at Riverwards Produce, Iovine Brothers Produce or online. Nutty Novelties, mkt.com/nutty-novelties-llc

✅ TARTUFO TARTUFATO AT CICALA

Angela Cicala’s sweet and savory “truffled truffle” dessert features actual black truffles. It consists of a cheesecake filled with black truffle paste, chocolate espresso whipped cream, chocolate crumble, truffle honey, freshly shaved black truffle on top and edible gold leaf for good measure. Cicala, 699 N. Broad St., cicalarestaurant.com

ILLUSTRATION BY MARIIA@stock.adobe.com

✅ FLAKELY’S GLUTEN-FREE CROISSANTS

Last fall, Philly-based Flakely launched the first all-butter, gluten-free croissant to hit the market. Founder Lila Jai Colello (a former pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck) spent three years developing the rice flour–based recipe. Order them on Facebook for $48/dozen (shipped frozen with free delivery), or ask your favorite restaurants to order them from the Chefs’ Warehouse distributor. Flakely, flakelygf.com

✅ WOWLERS AT WINE DIVE

This winter, the crew behind Hawthorne’s and the Cambridge introduced “Wowlers” at the new bar, Wine Dive. Bartenders fill up 25-ounce and 12.7-ounce bottles with one of eight on-draft wines, then cork and seal them with red wax for customers to take to go. Perfect for toting to a favorite BYOB. Wine Dive, 1506 South St., winedivephilly.com

✅ ​​​​​​​CHANNA MASALA FROM SAMBAR KITCHEN

Sambar Kitchen recently won a Good Food Award for its Channa Masala. This traditional South Indian spicy chickpea curry is ready to heat and serve over rice or with warm naan. Find it at Grassia’s Italian Market Spice Company or online. Sambar Kitchen, sambarkitchen.com