Most City dwellers weren’t born in New York, they were born in a town where landscaping meant big trees and blooming flowers not concrete and scaffolding. But we all love New York for the concrete metropolis that it is and, New Yorkers like tobelieve that distance makes the heart grow fonder and we appreciate the greener things more than our kin living in the country. When temperatures begin to rise every green plot of land, be it a park, square or patch, will be occupied by a group of people; some go for a nice walk or run, others simply enjoy the company of friends as the sun tans their winter-white skin, and we, well if it isn’t obvious by now, we picnic.
As a kid, picnics meant packing a cooler with mom’s homemade tuna sandwiches, a few cheese cubes, a ziploc bag of watermelon slices, and assorted beverages, and a day spent fishing for tadpoles or kicking around a ball with friends. But this is New York, which means that your hand woven, environmentally friendly, designer picnic basket isn’t packed with just any tuna sandwich but rather master chef Daniel Boulud’s Pain Bagnat (olive oil poached tuna, avocado, olives, butter lettuce, tomato, cucumber, hard boiled egg on herb foccacia) from Épicerie Boulud, and you feel like a poised french woman in A Sunday Afternoon by Seurat.
In a city where bad food is a crime against humanity, prepared foods and quick order sandwiches are made with fresh, local and organic ingredients that quickly turns your picnic basket along the water of the West Side Highway or deep in the woods of Central Park, into a bountiful spread fit for a king.
These are I’m In The Kitchen’s best picnic picks:
Sandwiches:
- The Prime Rib Sandwich at Rosticceria in Eataly
- The Romeo at artisan italin sandwich shop Alidoro
- The Falafel Sandwich at Birdbath Bakery
- El Quijote Bocadillo at Spanish market Despaña
- Pain Bagnat by chef Daniel Boulud at Épicerie Boulud
- Tuna Niçoise on Palladin by chef Thomas Keller at Bouchon Bakery
- Turkey & Swiss Croissant at Bien Cuit (Smith Street) Bakery
- Farmers Market Egg Salad with Dill at Local
Markets- you’re one stop shop for finger foods:
- Blue Ribbon Bakery Market Pre-pack Picnic Baskets:
Fried Chicken Feast
The West Sider
- Chelsea Market:
Semolina Bread with Golden Raisins and Fennel and nutty Dante Cheese: Amy’s Bread and Lucy’s Whey
Fresh Ice Pops: People’s Pops
Spicy Thai Lettuce Wraps and Portabella and Hempssed Burger: One Lucky Duck
Personalized Trail Mix: The Nut Box
- Whole Foods Market:
Marinated Tomatoes from the olive bar
- Citarella:
Pate de campagne
Cucumber Salad
Smoked Salmon Salad
- Court Street Grocers (Brooklyn):
Cauliflower with Pickled Hot Peppers
The Mother-in-law beef brisket sandwich
Seasonal cous cous
Photo Credits:
Central Park Landscape- College Fashion: Pretty in the City
Romero- Hannah Whitaker/ New York Magazine
Prime Rib Sandwich- Serious Eats
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