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This summer, bag the arduous picnic prep and pick up a ready-packed basket from a gourmet chef. Chef Bradley Manchester includes red-velvet cupcakes with his otherwise Italian-inspired "Michigan Avenue Picnic" at
theWit Hotel in downtown Chicago. Pulled pork sandwiches and lemonade in mason jars from Q Roadhouse give the spread at Grand Teton National Park a run for its money. The picnic for two at Denver's Osteria Marco finds a perfect backdrop at nearby Confluence Park. Chef John Stewart's house-cured meats are the main attraction for wine-country picnickers
at Bovolo, near Sonoma. |
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Call it the picnic paradox. You may dream of fried chicken, elaborate chilled salads, dainty sandwiches, and bottles of rosé, but nothing kills the carefree mood of a picnic like premeditation—and suddenly, sitting at a sidewalk café sounds like a pretty good compromise. The solution? Outsource your outdoor feast. Top chefs from all over the country are giving day-trippers a reason to grab their baskets and blankets and head out to the nearest green pasture for an epicurean adventure of the easy kind. Whether it's fried chicken in New York's spiffed-up Battery Park or BLTs in Sonoma's Armstrong Woods, here are six options for a few of our al fresco favorites.
New York City
The ingredient-driven bistro fare of Braeburn (117 Perry Street, 212-255-0696) is available from May 11 through Labor Day packed into takeout picnic baskets. Chef Brian Bistrong's treats include the likes of St. Louis—style slow-cooked pork on a soft roll, buttermilk fried chicken, and house-made cookies. Walk a few blocks to the 1 train and get out a few stops away at the refurbished South Ferry station, where nearby Battery Park has a bevy of blanket-worthy open space.
Boston
In Boston's Beacon Hill area, Bin 26 Enoteca (26 Charles Street, 617-723-5939) is not only a mere block away from the Victorian-style flora of the Public Garden, it also has a fantastic al fresco—ready menu, with Italophile options like tortellini pesto salad, wild boar salami, panini sandwiches, and grilled-veggies-and cheese antipasti. Whatever you do, though, don't pass up the sfingi-like fried goat-cheese turnovers with passion-fruit honey, all packed up in a special picnic box with utensils at the ready. Once your hunger pains are quelled, be sure to hop on one of the park's famous antique swan boats, where for less than $3 you can get a fifteen-minute guided cruise around the lagoon.
Chicago
The Edible Audible Picnic music series in Chicago's Millennium Park is just a taste of the great free events being held all summer long in this twenty-four-and-a-half-acre urban esplanade, and what better way to enjoy it than with chef Bradley Manchester's wicker basket—worthy delectables from theWit Hotel (201 North State Street, 312-467-0200)? Dubbed the "Michigan Avenue Picnic," Manchester's provisions include a bottle of 2004 Gunderloch Riesling as the perfect pour for roasted beets with candied walnuts and Maytag blue cheese; orechiette with Sicilian olives, pepperoncini, pepperoni, and fresh herbs; and an assortment of salumi, like spicy sopressata, guanciale, and lamb prosciutto. Oh, and did we mention the red-velvet cupcakes for dessert? They'll taste all the sweeter when taking in the musical maneuvers of the Grant Park Orchestra, whose outdoor summer sound festival is in its seventy-fifth year.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
With the stunning Grand Teton National Park a stone's throw away, Q Roadhouse (2550 Moose-Wilson Road, 307-739-0700) offers you one of the best views in all of Wyoming. Chef Roger Freedman's packed-to-the-gills picnic bag—a $40-for-two basket, eco-friendly plates and utensils included—is filled with southwestern fare like smoked-tomato salsa and chips, pulled-pork sandwiches, black-eyed-pea salad, and fresh-squeezed lemonade in mason jars. Head to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center and park your car at the overlook for a great spot to not only view the pristine water but also to fuel up for the six-plus-mile hiking trail that winds its way around this beautiful namesake body of water.
Denver, Colorado
The great state of Colorado is a nature lover's dream, and Denver's Osteria Marco (1453 Larimer Street, 303-534-5855) is happy to help you take advantage of all that fresh air in nearby Confluence Park. Chef Frank Bonanno's artisanal $45 picnic for two includes a reusable basket and blanket, plus a bevy of Bonanno's addictive house-made cheeses and meats, ciabatta bread, Marcona almonds, and homemade biscotti, among other sweet and savory delights. This renewed urban park has become wildly popular for its pretty views of the Platte River and Cherry Creek, once a site where prospectors sifted for gold but now simply a great spot to eat on one of the large riverside rock beds just off the walking trails.
Sonoma, California
Take a hint from the butcher's-eye-view pig tattooed on chef John Stewart's forearm: this chef takes his pork products very, very seriously. At his great little Healdsburg spot Bovolo (106 Matheson Street, 707-523-4814), the B in his fried-green-tomato BLT comes from free-range, sustainably raised heritage pigs that Stewart dry-cures himself. He and his wife, Duskie Estes, also offer house-made salumi, quinoa salad with roasted grapes and pine nuts, and half-bottles of local wines, like Merry Edwards's earthy and elegant pinot noir. They'll pack it all up for you with utensils aplenty in recyclable bags so you can grab a broad picnic table beneath the shade of the gentle giants in Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. Afterward, you can pick up the 2.2-mile loop that takes you through firs and oaks, and then hooks up with the Pioneer Trail for an up-close view of the famous redwoods—some of which are up to 2,000 years old!—and a tower 350 feet high.
Al Fresco Accoutrement
For those of you who prefer to pack your own feast, the sturdy Canterbury picnic basket from Picnic Time is the ultimate carryall. Stocked with a blanket and matching napkins, and a pair each of wineglasses, stainless-steel utensils, and plates, it also contains a waiter's corkscrew, wooden cheese board with knife, salt and pepper shakers, insulated wine duffel, and storage containers for leftovers. Canterbury two-person picnic basket, $144.95, www.picnic-basket.com.
Amy Zavatto is based in New York and writes about food, spirits, wine, and travel for Imbibe, New York magazine, The Ritz-Carlton magazine, Gotham, Frommer's, and Gourmet.com.
Photography credits:
- Roger Wright
- Courtesy State & Lake/theWit Hotel
- David Agnello
- Keith Roberts
- Joe Burull
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