Celebrating Dad When the World is Upside Down
The world may be holding its breath and waiting to exhale, but that shouldn’t stop us from celebrating half of the reason we’re alive in the first place — our fathers. Despite the rapid, daily changes we all experience living in the world of Covid, here’s a few ideas for ways you can treat Dad on his special day:
Order Him a Kit for a Cooking Class
This year, My Local Thrive is working alongside Pure Love Food Company for a live cook-along special on Father’s Day. The class is run by Chef Christian Morando, who trained out in San Francisco and worked his way through the Carmel restaurant scene before opening Pure Love. The class features an optional kit you can pre-order that has everything you need for the class, and is aired on Facebook and Instagram. However, those who have purchased the kit receive a Zoom invite that allows for a more interactive experience.
Father’s Day is the eighth in a series of online cooking courses, and each session teaches a new skill and kitchen trick. For this one, get ready to learn all you need to know about braised short ribs, slow cooked ahead of time and finished in the oven, smoked garlic mashed potatoes, and bacon Brussels sprouts. For this particular class, the aim is to make it more accessible to all different skill levels in the kitchen while still making a supremely delicious meal.
In addition to the meal, you can also take advantage of an at-home Father’s Day Wine Tasting through Integrity wine. You can order the kit for that here.
Grab Him One of Our Gift Baskets
If you love Monterey as much as we do (or if, even better, your dad is a huge fan,) consider gifting him one of our Father’s Day Monterey-themed gift packages.
Our first, the “Father’s Day Monterey Bay in a Box” features seven different local products, including locally roasted coffee from Captain and Stoker, beer-flavored chocolates from Heritage Chocolates Corralitos, hand-blended sea salts from Big Sur Salts, bitters from The Bitter Ginger, old world style all natural uncured salami from Foustman’s Salami, lemon dill marinated garlic from the Joseph Boston Store, and cowboy rub from Gil’s Gourmet made specifically for us. This box is $80 and includes free shipping. The chocolate can only be shipped to California addresses, but if your dad is outside of California we’ll substitute something of equal value.
Our second, the “Father’s Day Taste Monterey Bay in a Box” has a selection that might change based on availability. However, you can expect products similar to our other gift basket with a food-only focus that comes with five products instead of seven. This box is $60 plus shipping.
Enjoy Some Sunshine Picnics
Even though social distancing and large groups are still difficult to maneuver around, consider taking your dad and a few of your family members out for a good, old-fashioned picnic. Perhaps you can take the freshly cooked meal you’ve prepared in the cooking class or one of our Father’s Day gift baskets out to help make your meal that much more special with a personalized touch. You can even take advantage of Puma Road’s penny shipping across the country if you want to grab some wine for the excursion.
Assuming things will continue to, or stay, open after June 12, consider having a nice beachside picnic at Lover’s Point. Escape some of the traffic and go for a nice walk in the Jack’s Peak trails and eat lunch at one of the tables in the parking lots. Perhaps you can even take a little day trip down to Big Sur and eat by a river or on a rocky cliff overlooking a view that’s hard to find anywhere else. Just remember to keep it small, maintain your distance, and enjoy what nature has to offer.
Oh, My… An Actual Restaurant
If you had to stop and read that twice, we promise — you read it right the first time! That’s right, as of June 12, businesses (including restaurants) are finally opening up back for public business, and what better a way to celebrate Dad than get him and the family out and about after quarantine.
Esteban Restaurant at Hotel Casa Munras has a full Father’s Day weekend special, serving Paella dish with duck, sausage, mussels, and prawns for $42. Better yet, this is a dine-in only option, which is something we weren’t sure we’d ever be able to say again. Apart from some shorter hours and smaller staff sizes, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a place to enjoy a meal out and about. Don’t forget that mask!
Snag Him a Gift Card For the Future
Living in the world of Covid means things change on a daily basis, and it can still be hard to make plans, even if it’s only a week or two out. Although businesses are starting to open, we’ve all learned that could change in a blink, and plans we’ve made may end up having to be canceled. If you’re leery about making any plans outside of your house to celebrate Father’s Day, we still highly encourage people to purchase gift cards from local businesses so celebrations can recommence once the world has opened back up.
If Dad has a sweet tooth, consider getting him a gift card to a candy shop like IT’SUGAR on Cannery Row. If he likes outdoorsy things, maybe he’ll like a day out on a kayak or a bike through Adventures by the Sea. Maybe his favorite restaurant is closed still, so consider a gift card somewhere like Epsilon Fine Greek Restaurant or Paluca Trattoria. Perhaps he was previously interested in one of our food tours, so you can give both him and mom a gift — especially since we’re back open for small tours of 2 to 8 people. One way or another, things will eventually go back to normal, and even if you don’t want to plan for now, there’s always room to plan for the future.
What do you have planned for Father’s Day? We know we’re happy to be able to get back out an about! Let us know what you’ve got in mind in the comments!
Monterey Bay Food Tours maintains an inside track to our amazing food partners, from the terrific stops on our food tour to the folks who hand make the goodies in our giftable totes.
For the most treasured digital souvenir around, read on to discover a treasured recipe straight from one of the best restaurants in Monterey.