It’s been going on for years. This thing
I’ve got with Al. That’s Al Fresco. Al Fresco the picnic guy.
We met in a park. I was a teenager. He was older. He cut a fine
figure standing there holding a basket.
"What’s that in your hand?" I wanted to know.
"It’s a picnic basket, lady, just a picnic basket,"
he said, then strolled away. I caught up with Al later that day.
His face looked greasy and a few crumbs clung to the corner of
his mouth.
"It’s you," he said.
"Yeah, it’s me," I said. "Three hours older and
just as hungry."
Instead of his hand, he offered me a drumstick.
"Go on," he said. "If this isn’t the best chicken
you’ve ever had then my name’s not Al Fresco."
I took one bite. Then another.
"That’s damn good chicken," I said. Al smiled.
"I knew you were my kind of dame."
Every summer I get a postcard from Al. Kilimanjaro. Nepal. The
Great Wall of China. "Here’s to more picnics, baby,"
he writes. His cards are never signed, but I know they’re his
by the greasy thumbprint.
Here are a few Al-worthy items from delis, gourmet shops and
cafes near Prospect Park, as well as the Greenmarket, which I
would put in my picnic basket for the next time he wanders into
my life.
Adam’s mark
Adam Loparnos bought the Prospect Avenue Deli in Windsor Terrace
two years ago and my gastronomically deprived neighborhood thanks
him. All the takeout dishes are made daily on the premises. The
chicken cutlet, pounded thin, crisp at the edges and just salty
enough, makes great picnic fare. His macaroni and cheese is about
as close to the boxed kind as a home-baked apple pie is to a
Hostess snack cake. His egg custards, creamy and just sweet enough,
come in tiny, old-fashioned foil cups.
On Saturdays, you can see people leaving the deli with one of
Loparnos’ breakfast sandwiches – eggs and house-made corned beef
is the neighborhood favorite.
When I asked him which brand of coffee he uses for his rich,
iced brew he hesitated and said, "Um, I buy it from a neighborhood
guy."
Al would approve of Adam. He likes a man who knows when to keep
his mouth shut.
Greenmarket gourmand
I can see Al strolling through the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket.
Panama hat tilted just so, starched white shirt, baggy pants.
I’d take him to Buon Pane and Focaccia Inc.
Each morning, owner Barbara Olson bakes her fabulous breads and
they’re still warm when she unloads her truck. Her round loaves
with the vegetable toppings are great for a picnic – the bread
is chewy and dense and the toppings – I’m a fan of the moist
eggplant, hummus and artichoke – will give your picnic a little
je ne sais quoi.
We’d buy one of her round breads and one of her crusty sourdough
loaves and then head over to the Cato Corner Farm’s booth for
a piece of their all-natural, artisanal cheese. Elizabeth MacAlister
and Mark Gillman produce their cheeses on a farm in Connecticut.
Their Black Ledge Cheddar is very sharp, nutty and firm.
Al loves sweets so I’d take him to Bread Alone. Their baked goods
are made without preservatives and taste like they just emerged
from a loving mother’s oven. Cranberry walnut or chocolate chip
hazelnut scones are somewhere between a moist cookie bar and
a crumbly scone, and their lemon poppy seed pound cake is delicately
lemon flavored.
French feast
Pack a picnic basket with delicacies from Chez Isabelle and let
your senses transport you to Paris. The aroma of butter, sugar
and cheese that floats out the cheerful yellow door of owner
Isabelle Dubois’ tiny shop is reason enough to visit this charming
patisserie.
Her quiches are sublime. Sold in slices, the crusts ooze butter
and the fillings – spinach with goat cheese, a hearty mushroom,
ham and Swiss or fresh asparagus and ham – are to dieters what
Hustler Magazine is to teenage boys.
Ditto for the tuna, goat cheese and caper pain bagna sandwich
and the oven-warmed croque monsieur – a croissant filled with
ham, Swiss and a splash of bechamel (white) sauce or the croque
madame – turkey, Swiss and bechamel sauce.
Dubois’ fresh fruit tarts are heavenly, and so are her cookies.
But it’s the pear bread pudding, creamy and heavy with ripe fruit,
that would bring Al to his knees.
One-stop shopping
Nalie Elsebaie took over D’Vine Taste in Park Slope a year ago,
and ever since, she and her brothers have been delighting the
neighborhood with their Lebanese delicacies. In the back kitchen
I watched one brother roll grape leaves around fragrant, lemony
rice filling. Every imaginable olive, firm and perfect, is sold
here; the green Mexican olives in harissa paste pack a wallop.
Salads like artichokes with long stems in olive oil or pickled
garlic with cornichons seem light years away from coleslaw and
macaroni salad.
Two of Elsebaie’s savory lamb pies made with ground lamb and
spices in a soft bread triangle or her tangy spinach and feta
cheese pies with a cold glass of wine could make me forget picnics
past. (With the exception of my picnic with Al of course.)
Cafe trimmings
Al’s a steak and bourbon kind of guy, so he’d probably pass on
Naidre Miller’s vegan pizza or her egg salad made with soy mayonnaise.
His loss. Both are tasty and the egg salad has chopped scallions
that give the salad crunch and spiciness.
Naidre’s enormous prosciutto and smoked
mozzarella (ham and cheese to Al) on peasant bread is the kind
of butch sandwich he’d savor. The baked goods in Naidre’s cafe
come from well-known purveyors like Eli’s and Ecce Panis.
I’d see more of Al if I served him the blueberry angel’s food
cake with a cup of Naidre’s house blend iced coffee.
PICNIC GOODS
Chez Isabelle, 427 Seventh Ave. between 14th and 15th streets
in Park Slope, (718) 832-0127.
D’Vine Taste, 150 Seventh Ave. between Garfield and Carroll streets
in Park Slope, (718) 369-9548.
The Greenmarket, Grand Army Plaza between Prospect Park West
and Eastern Parkway at the northwest entrance to Prospect Park
is held every Saturday from 8 am to 4 pm. For information, call
(212) 477-3220 or e-mail www.cenyc.org.
Naidre’s, 384 Seventh Ave. between 11th and 12th streets in Park
Slope, (718) 965-7585.
The Prospect Avenue Deli, 1269 Prospect Ave. between Reeve Place
and Greenwood Avenue in Windsor Terrace, (718) 871-2117.
