9 Trip Ideas For Food-Loving Dads

This year, why not treat Dad to a vacation that will make this Father's Day stand out among all the others? After all, there are few things greater than the combination of food and travel. While Father's Day is celebrated on different days and in different ways around the world, good food is always a given. Here are nine trip ideas your Dad will love. 

Last year, NPR referred to Asheville, North Carolina, as the "Napa Valley of beer." The small city has 20 breweries, and while Asheville Beer Week (from May 22 to 30) just passed, you can still get tickets for the Brewgrass Festival, a beer and music festival during which you can sample a diverse assortment of craft beers from 50 national and local breweries. However, at any time of the year, you can enjoy up to 100 different local brews, as well as excellent chocolate, doughnuts, and pizza, making it the perfect spot for a last-minute weekend trip here with Dad this Father's Day. They don't call it "Beer City USA" for no reason.

While Seattle may be the birthplace of second-wave coffee, Portland offers more of an artisanal scene. Take your dad to a class or free coffee tasting at The Annex, one of the six Portland-born Stumptown Coffee Roasters locations in the city, or head to the Olé Latte Coffee truck to buy a "suspended coffee" — which is when a customer buys a coffee for someone else, and what they purchase gets put on a chalkboard hanging from the truck for another person to claim. Travel + Leisure named Portland America's best coffee city in 2014. 

This is a trip you have to plan for, but it is one that will surely please your fine-dining-loving dad. Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city, thanks to places like Sukiyabashi Jiro, subject of the acclaimed documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. You definitely need to book ahead for a reservation there, as well as other top-rated restaurants in Tokyo; add the French-influenced Quintessence to that list. And since you're going all the way there, you might as well take a trip to Western Japan for even more well-rated restaurants.

Not only will you find two Chicago burgers in the top 10 of our most recent list of the 101 Best Burgers in America, but from July 10 to 12, the city will be host to the Windy City Smokeout, the premier barbecue and country music festival in the Midwest. Your carnivorous Dad will be able to watch Myron Mixon from BBQ Pitmasters and Adam Richman from Man v. Food give barbecue tutorials and judge an amateur rib competition, as well as sample food from the country's best barbecue joints. And if you're lucky enough to score a reservation-by-ticket, make a stop at Chicago's best restaurant, Alinea, before you get on that airplane.  

Sourthern California's Huntington Beach is a great place to enjoy bonfires and beachside eating — all on a budget. For ethically sourced seafood (and fantastic clam chowder-topped fries), go to Slapfish, and if you'd like to indulge in just one night of fancy dining, head to the AAA Four Diamond Award-winning restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, The Californian. For a more casual take on sushi, eat the best poke outside Hawaii at the North Shore Poke Company. 

Your oenophile dad has probably already visited Napa Valley, so why not take him across the pond to the rolling hills of northern Portugal? While port, which we recommend tasting at House of Croft, tends to steal the spotlight when we think of the region's wine, the Douro Valley is host to a variety of reds, whites, and rosés (Douro table wines) that please. Make sure to schedule a tour at Herdade do Esporão's estate in the Douro Valley, Quinta dos Murças. Esporão has produced several award-winning wines and has some of the oldest vineyards in Europe. 

Dessert-loving dads have plenty to taste in the Texas capital, from ethnic treats like the tres leches cake at El Bolillo and masala cookies at Hot Breads to the European pastries at Common Bond to the specialties at the very American House of Pies, where you can indulge in their famous Bayou Goo: a cream cheese pie with vanilla custard, chocolate chunks, and a pecan crust. 

Since Ireland has one of the highest rates of celiac disease in the world, the Irish make sure that everyone can enjoy hearty meals. You and Dad can even enjoy gluten-free fish and chips at Beshoff Bros. No matter what cuisine you crave, you can rest assured that they have a gluten-friendly version of it in Dublin, and you'll find gluten-free options on menus at places ranging from pubs to Michelin-starred restaurants. Get some delicious rice-flour pizza at Credo, and make sure to use the ever-helpful glutenfreedublin.com when you travel. 

The cornucopia of different foods available in New York is unlike that of any other city. Vegetarian options are standard on almost every menu, and there are a slew of vegetarian and vegan restaurants that even non-vegetarians line up for, such as Brooklyn's Champs Diner, Dirt Candy in the East Village, and the falafel joint Taïm, which has a food truck as well as a permanent location in SoHo.