Food
Friday, July 4, 2008
Dining al fresco for dummies
By Devora Rogers
- Europeans Do it Better series
With longer days and summer approaching, there’s nothing
that I miss more than Europe ’s sprawling
terraces and outdoor cafes. While in Spain last year, I experienced
their “terraza culture” which, if you’re not familiar is a fanaticism for
outdoor bar and dining terraces. Madrid ’s
become famous for these
spaces, perched atop buildings in the downtown area. While we may not have
the table-lined streets of Paris or the terrazas
of Spain ,
we do have tables, we do have food and we can bring them both outside.
Here’s my guide to dining al fresco:
- Rule # 1: If it’s warm, you should be eating outside, all
summer long. Period.
- Lighting is everything. If you plan on creating a
permanent area dedicated to outdoor dining, consider buying light
cubes or these super neat glowing
spheres. Otherwise, some candle set-ups are a must have. If you’re in an
area with bugs, the mosquito-repellant Cintronnella variety is a good
addition.
- Serve food that doesn’t necessarily need to be kept warm,
i.e. fresh crusty baguettes, cheese platters, pasta that can be served at room
temperature. Quiche is
another excellent choice for the outdoor meal.
- If you’re using the barbeque, I suggest eating food right
off the grill—serve your guests up steaks (or sigh, burgers) as soon as they
are ready and encourage them to dig in while it’s hot and the flavor is
fresh—that’s what makes outdoor eating fun, it’s a little less formal and
everything tastes a little sweeter.
- Keep the wine and platters outside with you so you don’t
have to trek in and out of the house to get what you need.
- Cool table cloths. I mentioned French table linens in my Mother’s
Day blog and these are definitely they way to go and rock out Euro style.
They are charming and ensure you’re eating off a clean, appetizing surface.
Final rule: Stay outside as long and as late as you can. In Europe they bring their tables right out from their
apartment onto the sidewalk and don't move till the early hours of morning. I
can't think of a better way to enjoy the summer!
Related: terraza, outdoor dining, europe, al fresco
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Posted by Bbee Fri May 16, 2008 1:46pm PDT
Ok, I will be giving it a try this weekend!
Thank you for this article!
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Posted by gaileta Sun May 18, 2008 3:33am PDT
Great food, cool drinks, beautiful weather - nothing more enjoyable than just sitting around outside. I'm enjoying every evening to the fullest... outdoors - for the next few weeks, anyways. Our low temperatures are starting to really climb, and with the days already hitting 105+ F, spending time near anything that was touched by sunlight during the day is uncomfortable (it's 3am and our patio wall is STILL warm).
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Posted by mlbispo57 Sun May 18, 2008 7:26am PDT
Good Morning
Re: dinning Al Fresco does enyone know of an "off the beaten path" Resturuant to take my potential honey? Areas of interest would be SFV, LA, Beaches, Agoura, maybe farther up North, South , East, West - CA
It's a beautiful Sunday and I'd love to find something new...............Mamma neededs to get her grove back nad HTB is not a millioniar, yet! HELP .fifty yrs young and times a wasten'
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Posted by tioplanet Mon May 19, 2008 11:58am PDT
What a great series this "Europeans do it better" is. It is finally spring here in Canada and the warm evenings are upon us.......during the day the wasps tend to drive us inside, but the evenings are OURS. Great ideas for al fresco dining, thanks for the tips.
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Posted by laura Mon May 19, 2008 9:02pm PDT
funny, me and my (non-american) husband were just bemoaning the lack of terazza style dining options here in the bay area, ca. the closest we come to it is sitting on the fire escape of our 3rd floor apt!
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Posted by Scully Thu May 22, 2008 12:44pm PDT
Sounds WONDERFUL!!!
Thanks for the ideas :)
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