34 of the Best Recipes from Our Archives

I’ll be honest with you: I have no idea what kinds of foods “dads” like.

I’m not a dad! But even if I were, who am I—who is anyone—to say what dads want to eat on Father’s Day? As a category, “dads” includes a hugely diverse range of human beings: Do they all like pancakes (I’m falling asleep right now) or grilling (can you hear my snores?) or fancy gadgets (yawn) or puns (I just hit the snooze button)?

There are dads in Tokyo, dads in Sardinia, dads in Dar-es-Salaam, in Lyon, in San Antonio, in Uruguay, in Marrakesh, in Chengdu. There are old dads, young dads, middle-aged dads. Dads who are doctors, who are law enforcers, who are security guards, train conductors, clowns. Dads who are very good people, dads who are not so much. Dads who go to every soccer game or sumo match; dads who are, sadly, absent. Dads who are avid home cooks, dads who don’t cook at all. Dads who don’t even know what a pancake is—and who are dads all the same.

So to avoid a collection of recipes that will, at worst, offend, and at best, put you to sleep, here’s a round-up of recipes that remind me of my dad—not because they’re foods he likes but because they’re oldies (sorry, Dad) but goodies: They might not be the glitziest or the flashiest (and some might need their photo re-taken), but they’re ever-reliable, they’re soothing in their familiarity, and they’re deserving of attention—this Sunday and into the future.

(And yes, there is a pancake on the list. But it’s not because all dads make them well.)