Eating Out More Often--Central Park

Hello and welcome to Eat Out More Often, a roadside rest area on this information superhighway devoted to the fulfilling endeavor of eating and socializing in the cheap showiness of nature. Although we're still chewing over the mission statement of this online newsletter (blog is such a vulgar word) we are eager to take a big bite out of something we see as a sadly unexplored topic--picnicking! For now, it is enough to say that we love the pageantry and pleasantness of the picnicking pass time, and we intend to "drink a toast," if you will, to this great outdoor tradition.


















Here we have our inaugural Eat Out More Often picnic, the one that started it all. As Kim and Thew-- especially Thew--are demonstrating, we were set to eat a spread of baguette, cheese (of the brie and goat varieties), chips, hummus, avocado, red grapes and--on the sly--white wine. The accordion we brought along for some post-picnic ditties proved an excellent serving table.

We picked the coziest of spots for our lunchtime rendezvous, Central Park at 59th and Central Park West. We liked this site for its shadiness, its gentle slope, and, because of its busy locale, the opportunities it afforded us for amusing people-watching.

As foreshadowed by the presence of the accordion, an already marvelous picnic can often be improved upon with music. Ukuleles do nicely, as they are light, portable, very easy to play, and they encourage group participation. Here Jim teaches Ivy an especially tricky lick on Herman's Hermits' mournful pop hit, "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter." We look so happy here; little did we know a bagpiper was on his way to take a big musical dump on the proceedings.





What's that you ask? Is there a video of "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter"? Well, since you were such a dear about it...