Food

From Super-Spendy to (Almost) Free: 5 Father’s Day Gift Ideas

Whether you want to go big with a hotel package or enjoy an easygoing burger with the guy who raised you, there’s likely something here to please your pops.

The Capella Hotel offers a luxe Father's day package including dinner in the Grill Room. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

A fancy hotel package (from $2,195)

Stacks of cash cluttering up your closets? Thank your dad for steering you toward such astounding financial success with a package at Georgetown’s new palace of showy indulgences, the Capella Hotel. The bundle includes two nights in one of the Capella’s swank chambers, a tasting session of high-end and rare whiskeys at the Rye Bar, some fancy cigars, 18 holes of golf, a massage credit at the hotel spa, tickets to a Nationals Game, and $100 per person toward dinner at the Grill Room—where the old man will be feted with dishes such as tableside steak tartare and a pretty fantastic baked Alaska.

The hotel also offers ample opportunity to spend more by upgrading your room, buying Dad a ticket on the Acela as part of the package, or borrowing a Ferrari or Lamborghini for a two-hour joyride around town.

A beery brunch ($72 for two)

Co Co. Sala figures that even dads with antiquated notions about gender roles—for instance, that men don’t brunch—can be won over by beer bellinis. (It’s no longer a girly drink if it has beer in it!) It’s offering a special 11 to 3 PM brunch on the 16th with a menu highlighting chocolate, bacon, and brews.

Reserve spots at the Penn Quarter restaurant on Father’s Day, and your dad will be appreciated with a $36 meal that begins with a bacon-mac-and-cheese bite and ends with desserts such as a peanut butter cheesecake and a chocolate-banana tart with bacon and macadamia nuts.

A day at Mount Vernon ($34 for two people)

If your dad is into history, take him to George Washington’s house for the afternoon. A guy dressed up like the original POTUS will be posing for photos and discussing the paternal roles “he” played during “his” lifetime. That happens in front of the mansion at 11, 1, and 3. While you’re there, head three miles away to check out George Washington’s distillery and gristmill, open seasonally through October (10 to 5, $5 admission fee). Note: admission is free with your ticket to tour Mount Vernon.

A signed book by Barton Seaver ($30)

Meet Barton Seaver and secure a good offering for the grill-loving dad by heading to Union Market on Saturday, June 8. The former Hook chef and poster child for seafood sustainability will be signing copies of his new book, Where There’s Smoke: Simple, Sustainable, Delicious Grilling. Look for him from 1 to 2:30 at Salt & Sundry. Bonus gift: Stop by Cordial Fine Wine & Spirits for well-priced, interesting reds and whites from places such as South Africa, Washington State, and New Zealand. There’s also a good little collection of large-format Belgian beers.

A well-built burger (free with the purchase of another burger, price to your pride not included)

Okay, not completely free. You do have to say “My dad is a BFD”—presumably in front of your father—to staff of the Counter in Reston. If you can do that, they’ll give you a two-for-one deal on burgers on June 16. The great part about this gift? It’s not only cheap, it also requires no advanced planning. Your pops will be so proud.