Gifts that won’t last forever :...

Long before people were conspicuously consuming diamonds, furs and automobiles, they were offering each other gifts of good things to eat. Food does make the perfect present: It won’t be the wrong size, you can’t break it, it doesn’t hang around the house collecting dust and it can’t possibly come back to you the following year.

But if you’ve a mind to give an edible gift, you can do a lot better than simply picking up a box of chocolates or sending off for fruit. At this time of year L.A. turns into a true movable feast, as restaurateurs and purveyors get the holiday spirit and attempt to outdo each other in Christmas creativity. The following gifts are all local treasures--and most of them are only available during the next few weeks.

L’Ermitage was famous for its home-smoked salmon long before the orange fish became a food fad. This special salmon is usually available only to diners at the restaurant, but for the holiday season chef Michel Blanchet is making extra and selling it by the pound. Blanchet marinates Norwegian salmon in fresh herbs and sea salt and then smokes it in the restaurant’s custom-designed cold smoker, using his own special mixture of fragrant woods. The result is soft, buttery and not at all salty; at $18 a pound this has to be the best deal on smoked salmon in town.

L’Ermitage, 730 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 652-5840.

The extravagant ‘80s are over; welcome to the frugal ‘90s. If spending a lot of money on a big bouquet seems sort of frivolous, you might want to consider a practical substitute. Stanford’s fruit and vegetable baskets are as beautiful as flowers--but considerably more tasteful. Made by Northern Produce, purveyors to such ritzy restaurants as Chasens, the Bistro and Spago, Stanford gift baskets come in four sizes. Each holds an assortment of the best seasonal produce from that morning’s market. The blend might include baby carrots, colorful peppers, radicchio, tiny eggplant, endive, perfect pears, French melons or golden raspberries, at prices that range from $40 to $150. Delivery charges are $10 within a 25-mile radius of downtown and $15 within a 50-mile radius. There is a 20% charge for rush orders.

Stanford Gift Baskets, 1000 S. Wall St., Los Angeles, (213) 626-GIFT.

It looks like just an ordinary box of cookies. It isn’t. The box itself, which is about the size of a wall plaque, is entirely edible; it has been crafted out of four pounds of fresh chocolate. The lid is white chocolate painted with a dark chocolate design. Even that beautiful fresh orchid on the top turns out to be edible--it’s made out of sugar. Lift up the lid--carefully-- and you discover that the box is packed with an array of extraordinarily pretty Christmas cookies--Spritz, checkerboard, gingerbread, macaroons, perhaps some double chocolate chip. The Century Plaza has been making this trompe l’oeil confection for years, but this year, in honor of its 25th anniversary, it is actually selling the boxes to the public. Each box costs $90, and orders must be placed at least five days in advance by phone or at the Cafe Plaza, located on the Plaza Level of the hotel. It’s hard to imagine a splashier gift.

The Century Plaza Hotel, 2025 Avenue of the Stars, Century City. (213) 277-2000, ext. 2436.

You can’t eat this box--but there’s plenty inside to eat. City Restaurant, which is famous for its international cuisine--Indian tandoori breads, Thai salads, Korean ribs, Japanese sashimi and Italian gnocchi --makes all-American desserts. For the holiday season the restaurant has created a gift box filled with four dozen cookies: Crisp sugar cookies, rich double-chocolate scooters, Florentines, butter cookie wreaths and ginger snaps. There’s also an adorable spicy gingerbread man, decorated and ready to hang on your tree, provided you can resist the urge to nibble. The decorative drum box, which is pictured on the cover, top left, costs $22.50.

City Restaurant, 180 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 938-2155.

There are more than a dozen reasons to shop at the La Brea Bakery, including the whole-wheat sandwich loaf, the chocolate-cherry loaf, the rustic six-grain loaf, the pumpkin loaf and the buttery raisin loaf. A new one has just been added to the list. The bakery is introducing custom gift baskets for the holidays, each filled with an assortment of Nancy Silverton’s delicious breads, panforte (Italy’s answer to fruitcake), jars of jam and apple butter; candied almonds and gingerbread tree ornaments (one is pictured on the cover). The French bread baskets are available in three sizes (12 inches $28.50; 16 inches $48.50; 20 inches $75) and are decorated with hand-dyed ribbons, lady apple pomanders, cinnamon and pine cones. Orders must be placed at least three days before pick up.

La Brea Bakery, 624 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 939-6813.

You won’t have any trouble finding Graffeo Coffee--you can smell the aroma of roasting coffee blocks away. You won’t have any trouble choosing what kind of coffee to buy either; unlike most coffee stores, Graffeo sells only three kinds of coffee. Their blend of Colombian, Costa Rican and New Guinea comes in either a dark or light roast, or a Swiss water-processed Colombian decaf. If you have a coffee connoisseur on your gift list, a few pounds of coffee is bound to make him happy. Regular coffee is $8 a pound; decaf is $9--and they throw in the special gift box free.

Graffeo Coffee, 315 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (213) 273-0817).

The Broadway Deli has elevated grocery shopping from an errand into a cultural event: Italian salami, herb-infused vinegar from France, Old Salty potato chips from Rockford, Ill. If you really want to impress someone, pick up a bottle of Sapori Toscani olio extra vergine di oliva-- it’s unfiltered extra virgin olive oil and sells for $35. Be sure to let your friends know that only 200 cases of this particular oil are imported into the United States each year. And what better to pour it on than a salad made of just-picked lettuce? You can provide that as well with a basket of Living Lettuce. This organically grown gourmet salad pack contains eight varieties of European and American lettuce and will easily feed eight hungry people. Cut the plants back and Living Lettuce will produce a second growth. It’s a pretty impressive present for $12.50.

Broadway Deli, 1457 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica. (213) 451-0616.

What do you buy a baby gourmet? A designer dinosaur egg, of course. It comes packed in its own prehistoric box. Crack open the giant milk chocolate egg, and out pop 10 baby dinosaurs in bittersweet and milk chocolates. (This one is so cute it may never actually reach the children.) The egg is made by Cocolat, one of San Francisco’s top chocolate makers; it costs $15.

Montana Mercantile, 1500 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. (213) 451-1418.

The biscotti at Il Fornaio can easily become an addiction. These cookies for grown-ups are not the rich, sticky sweet kind that go with milk, but the dry, spicy sort that go with coffee. For the holidays, Il Fornaio is packing up their most popular biscotti in a Bakerman cookie tin. The cestino di biscotti costs $24.50.

Il Fornaio, 1627 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. (213) 458-1562, and 301 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. (213) 550-8330.

Real chocoholics don’t go for fancy packaging or gimmicky design, and while they may have a concern for quality, most true chocolate addicts know that it’s quantity that counts. You could buy your friend an ounce or two of fancy chocolate, but for the same money you could go to Trader Joe’s and get a 10-pound bar of chocolate. The no-frills package goes for $16.49. Made by Ghirardelli, the California chocolate comes in both milk and dark; it’s bound to make a huge impression on almost anyone. Trader Joe’s, 17640 Burbank Blvd., Encino, (818) 990-7751 and numerous other locations.

Beryl Robinson’s family was making rich Jamaican Christmas puddings before she was born. Now Robinson is following in the family tradition, making dense, English-style fruitcakes. Each powerful pudding contains raisins, currants, prunes, dates and cherries that Robinson has soaked in Jamaica rum for at least six months. She stirs nuts into the mixture and bakes it in a rich batter of butter, brown sugar, eggs and spices. Robinson says that if you pour a little Port or Jamaican rum over the cake every so often and store it in a cool place, it should last indefinitely. The puddings are available in 2, 3, 4 and 5 pound sizes, and cost $8.50 a pound.

Coley’s Kitchen, 4335 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 293-6930.

A new twist on the traditional Christmas basket? Chin Chin’s is probably the most original around. The restaurant packs a baby wok, apricot sauce, Sichuan dumpling sauce, a jar of spicy chile paste and a bottle of its own Chinese chicken salad dressing into its holiday basket. This would be a perfect present for a friend who loves the food at Chin Chin but can’t take the crowds; it costs $19.95.

Chin Chin , 12215 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. (818) 985-9090, and other locations in West Hollywood, Brentwood and Marina Del Rey.

C roquembouche is one of the world’s trickiest cakes--and it makes a showy gift. Fashioned from pyramids of individual cream puffs drizzled with spun sugar, the cakes make any buffet table look great. Available from Paris Pastry by special order, the large (100 puffs) costs $60 and the smaller version (50 puffs) $35.

Paris Pastry, 1448 Westwood Blvd., Westwood. (213) 474-8888.

A Potpourri of small presents:

Some like it hot. And almost everybody likes the home-made mustard at Philippe’s. The home of the French-dip sandwich and 10-cent coffee, The Original Philippe’s, 1001 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles, (213) 628-3781, packs its powerful mustard to go; a jar costs $1.65.

Chutney’s are a specialty at Tazeen’s Indian Cuisine, 9748 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (213) 204-5136. In fact, people have been known to become addicted to Tazeen’s spicy chicken chutney ($6.99 half pint); the recipe has been in her family for generations. Excellent cilantro and mint chutneys are also packed to go in pint and half-pint jars.

Mooncakes are the Chinese answer to American fruitcake, and a few would make an original little gift. Shaped like hockey pucks, they are filled with blends of meat, nuts, seeds and candied fruits. During the holiday season you can buy them at Phoenix Bakery, 969 N. Broadway, Chinatown. (213) 628-4642.

Skip the tiny tins of mixed nuts. For about the same price you can pick up a 5-pound bag of pistachio’s. They come in the shell, roasted and salted, and make a long-lasting and quite luxurious present. $12.75 a bag from the Los Angeles Nut House, 1601 E. Olympic Blvd., Building 200, Los Angeles. (213) 623-2541.

Christmas without tamales? Not in Mexico. And not in Torrance either. El Torito Grill, 21321 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, (213) 543-1896, prepares holiday tamales to go for $5.95 a half dozen or $10.95 a dozen. Choices include sweet corn, chicken, barbecued duck and cinnamon raisin, and includes instructions on preparing them in an oven, microwave or steamer.