May/June 2007

Coastal Cuisine

A beach picnic takes an upscale turn.

By Patrick Evans-Hylton

Al fresco dining is one of those pleasures of the season -- enjoying not only wonderful food, but fantastic outdoor scenery as well. Picnics provide the perfect choice for this type of dining; since the feast is portable, the options for where to enjoy the meal are seemingly endless.

Because Hampton Roads is surrounded by water just about everywhere you look, we decided to have a picnic at Chicks Beach, a quaint neighborhood on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia Beach.

For a setting like this, we didn't want just an ordinary picnic -- we moved beyond ham sandwiches and cookies to something a bit more upscale. To start, we offer a trio of drinks: mimosas made with rose champagne and freshly squeezed orange juice; a spritzer concocted from wine an HRM staffer made at Carafe Wine Makers in Chesapeake; and bloody marys made with clam juice-spiked mix from Eastern Shore-based Blue Crab Bay Co.

The beverage bottles and wine bottle drip collar were transported to the picnic in a stylish carrier from Built NY. Our iPod and other electronics were kept dry using a media bag from the company. All three products are made with materials used in wetsuits, making them flexible, water-resistant and easy to store.

Our appetizers included tapas tray of salsa made from tomatillos -- a citrusy, green, tomato-like fruit that is about the size of a ping-pong ball -- augmented with anchovy-stuffed olives and stuffed pickled eggplants we picked up from La Tienda, a Williamsburg importer of Spanish foods.

The first of two entrees is a delicious roasted seafood pasta primavera, rich with grilled oysters and mussels atop pasta and augmented with marinated veggies. The other is Salad Nicoise Croissant, a take on the classic made with premium Spanish tuna, also from La Tienda, and traditional ingredients like capers, red wine vinegar and hard boiled eggs, all served on a buttery, flaky croissant.

For dessert, we serve the tongue-in-cheek Hot Chocolate Brownie -- "hot" because it is spiked with spicy peanuts we got from Belmont Peanuts in Southampton County. The rich cake is chocolate frosted, topped with vanilla ice cream, and garnished with chocolate-covered peanuts.

The entire picnic was stylishly served on a table from lifestyle store EQ3. The artsy place settings also came from the retailer.

It was an outing enjoyed by all -- stretches of sandy beach, rolling waves off blue water, and a view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in the distance enhanced the delicious food.

Want to have your own beach picnic? Turn the page for some recipes and resources.

For the rest of this story, including our recipes for the perfect beach picnic fare, see the May/June issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.