Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

The Serious Eats Father's Day Gift Guide

Posted by Ed Levine, June 10, 2008 at 8:30 AM

We're coming to the rescue of gift-idea-starved sons and daughters everywhere with an absolutely foolproof Father's Day gift guide. These babies have been road-tested with half a dozen of my friends, all dads who appreciate some of the finer, not-so-fancy things in life. Prices quoted do not include shipping, unless otherwise noted.

Pastrami from Langer's in Los Angeles

I know serious eaters are asking: How could Ed Levine, Mr. New York Eats, be recommending an L.A. delicatessen's pastrami? Simple. It may be the best mail-order pastrami you can buy anywhere in this country right now. This pastrami is a deep reddish purple, it's rubbed with plenty of coriander and pepper, and it steams up in meltingly tender fashion. $20 a pound, two-pound minimum, from langersdeli.com

'Mario Batali Italian Grill'

It's early June, and many a man's attention turns to grilling. So how convenient is it that Mario Batali's Italian Grill book just came out? Very convenient is how I can see it. I'm going to practice my rosticciana (Italian-style ribs), my guinea hen breasts with pesto, and my bone-in rib eye with arugula (tagliata) so that I can execute all of them flawlessly over the Fourth of July weekend. $19.77, from Amazon.com

Metropolitan Bakery Granola

I don't think I'm a wuss because I like granola, so I figure there must be a lot of dads out there like me who wouldn't mind getting some terrific Metropolitan Bakery granola in the mail. The house-made granola mixture contains pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds; wheat germ; nuts; and berries. It isn't too sweet and is spiced up by a mighty tasty blend of herbs and spices and I've found it's great with vanilla ice cream. $6.95 for a 10-ounce bag, from metropolitanbakery.com

Mesh Grill-Top Pans

I haven't tried these mesh grill-top chef's pans that I just saw in Williams-Sonoma, but they look like they would be the perfect way to sauté vegetables or potatoes on a grill without burning them. There's also a fry-pan shape mesh pan. $49.95 for chef's pan, $29.95 for fry pan, from williams-sonoma.com

Bacon Gift Box

How could any non-vegetarian dad resist Zingerman's Powered by Pork bacon gift box? It's filled with almost three pounds of four of my favorite bacons, including Nueske's Wisconsin Applewood, Arkansas Long Pepper, Broadbent Kentucky Dry-Cured, and Edward's Virginia Dry-Cured. But that's not all. Your lucky dad will also get one Mo's Bacon & Chocolate Bar from Vosges, a one-page bacon manifesto proposing a dozen recipes for this stellar cut of pork, and a canvas Zingerman's tote. $90, from zingermans.com

Boule Chocolate-Covered Fleur de Sel Caramels

I love chocolate-covered fleur de sel caramels a lot, but what I love even more are the fleur de sel caramels from Boule in Los Angeles. Michelle Myers makes ultra-creamy, ultra-buttery-soft caramel sticks that have a just enough salty deliciousness in every bite. $20 for box of 20, from boulela.com

Post a Comment Favorite this!  (0)

Tags: Father's Day, gift guides, gifts, holidays