Father’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Regional Foods That Deliver

One of the great joys of traveling is discovering new places to eat. One of the great joys of staying home is being able to get those same dishes delivered right to your door even if you’re thousands of miles away.

Thanks to nationwide delivery and my pandemic savior, Goldbelly, you can treat your favorite guy to his favorites, from Maine lobster to New York deli, wherever you live.

It definitely won’t be the longest lasting gift but it’s likely to be the best.

McLoons Lobster Shack Maine Lobster Roll Kit from Goldbelly

This family-owned lobster shack is located on a working lobster wharf in Maine and their mouthwatering lobster roll has been named the best in a state famous for them. Don’t worry if you can’t take him there because everything he needs to make four overflowing lobster rolls will be delivered straight to his door, including one pound of fresh (yes, it really arrives fresh and delicious) lobster tail, knuckle and claw meat, four New England style split top rolls, Casco Bay Artisan Sea Salt Butter, mayonnaise and roll sleeves. Even if he’s eating it in a landlocked part of the country, he’ll be immediately transported to the coast of Maine. It’s a beach vacation in a sandwich.

Carnegie Deli The Best of Carnegie Deli

No need to deal with the crowds when you can have this spread from New York’s iconic Carnegie Deli sent right to his door. Their massive sandwiches are the stuff of legends and he can create his own masterpiece with this kit that includes 1.5 pounds each of oh-so-tender pre-sliced pastrami and corned beef, one loaf of rye bread, a jar of sour pickles and the deli’s signature Dusseldorf Mustard. New York has never tasted so good.

Marcus Samuelsson’s Streetbird Marcus’ Hot Honey Chicken & Cornbread Waffles

Make his Father’s Day wish come true by planting him in front of the TV with these legendary chicken and waffles from the six time James Beard Award winning chef’s iconic Harlem restaurant. There is so much flavor going on here – from the four pieces of dark meat fried chicken dredged in cornmeal, garlic, onion, and paprika to the two cornbread waffles to the seasonal succotash, bread and butter pickles and hot honey – it will be hard to hear the game over his happy moans.

Zingerman’s Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich Kit

As the lines around the block attest, no one makes a Reuben quite like Zingerman’s. They serve more than 50,000 of them a year so can rest assured they’ve perfected it. But if the dad in your life can’t get to Ann Arbor, Michigan, no worries, they’ll send him all the fixings to make it himself, including Jewish Rye, sliced Corned Beef, sliced Emmentaler Swiss cheese, Zingerman’s potato chips, Coleslaw, Sauerkraut, Russian dressing, garlicky pickles and, as a finishing touch, their Magic Brownie Bites. Each kit serves 3-4. In theory.

And now, the desserts …

Magnolia Bakery Dad Bod Box

Cue the angels. Magnolia Bakery’s world-renowned banana pudding is my husband’s all-time favorite – you can actually feel the stress leave his body when he realizes what’s in the box – so this special package is a perfect gift for him since it comes straight from Manhattan with two large cups of the irresistible stuff, which means I might actually get a spoonful or two. The melt-in-your-mouth pudding is so creamy and filled with pieces of banana and vanilla wafers, it’s impossible to overstate just how good it is. Luckily, the Dad Bod Box also comes with three Banana Pudding Cookies and two Double Fudge Brownies — works of art in themselves — because he’s likely to consumer the pudding in one sitting.

Last Crumb Cookies

As if the rich taste of their handbaked cookies weren’t decadent enough – and, trust me, it is – Last Crumb makes them even more highly coveted by only dropping small batches weekly so you have to order fast before they sell out. Los Angeles’ newest A-lister, they offer giant, flavor-packed treats with irreverent names like Better Than Sex, What The F*ck Velvet and We’re Onto You, Doughboy. You may laugh at their names but you’ll weep with joy at their out of this world taste.

Milk Bar Waffle Cone Pie

OMG. Just OMG. I mean, you know it’s going to be good because it’s from Milk Bar – home of Cereal Milk ice cream and the deliciousness formerly known as Crack Pie – but come on. This Waffle Cone Pie, inspired by the ice cream truck staple, is ridiculously good. It’s nutty and chocolatey and creamy and impossible to stop eating. Warning: there is no way he’s going to want to share this with you.

Bell’s Cookie Co.

I’m thinking Sleepless in Seattle must be an apt description of local residents excitedly waiting to get their fix of these highly-craveable gourmet cookies. Cookie fans anywhere can now join them in anticipation, thanks to Bell’s nationwide delivery. Signature flavors like Colombian Corn and The Bells – a brilliant combination of toffee, potato chips, chocolate chips and pecans – are future cookie classics and we haven’t even discussed The Pantry (pretzels, white chocolate chips, toffee and coffee) or Chocolate Monster (chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, pecans and caramel) yet.