Lewis Donald slices barbecue fresh off the smoker at Sweet Lew’s. Photo by Peter Taylor.

Q: Are restaurants doing special to-go menus for Father’s Day?
UP: Yes, many of them are! Here’s a list of the ones that stood out to us.

• Sweet Lew’s Barbecue’s Father’s Day special is $75 and includes a rack of pork ribs, two pounds of pork ‘cue, eight smoked wings, your choice of two sides, and pound cake with peaches and cream, which serves six people. Order online.
• Global Restaurant in Pineville’s family-style dinner includes three courses, with entree options of roasted angus strip or pulled pork. Dinner for two costs $70, four is $135, and six is $196. Order by Friday at 6 p.m.
• The Rare Roots Hospitality restaurants are serving up a grill kit that feeds four for $125. The kit includes 4 filets, seasoning and sauce, and sides. You can add on a 28-ounce cowboy ribeye steak for an additional $80. Pick your kit up at any of the restaurants (Fin & Fino, Dogwood, Dressler’s, or The Porter’s House). Order online by Friday at 2 p.m.

Q: My dad wants a coconut cream pie for Father’s Day. Where can I find a good pie?
UP: There are very few bakeries that have a wide selection of pies in town. Among the ones that do, I’m not sure I know of any that do coconut cream. Your best bet is to get in your order quick among pastry chefs and cake-makers. I’d recommend reaching out to Samantha Allen of Wentworth & Fenn and ordering one from her, then picking it up at her new Camp North End location.

Q: Is it required of a restaurant to announce to customers when an employee has tested positive for Covid-19?
UP: It’s not, and we’re really impressed with Reid’s for announcing it to the public when an employee at the SouthPark store got sick, and proceeding to close for a deep clean. There’s really nothing required of a restaurant, because every positive test gets reported to the Health Department. In theory, that’s when contact tracing would begin, so if you dined at a restaurant where someone tested positive and may be at risk, the Health Department would let you know. That said, we haven’t heard of that happening yet. We spoke to local restaurant owners about what they would do if someone tested positive earlier this week.

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