July/August 2005

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

A Carefully Crafted Picnic Always Scores a Homerun

By Patrick Evans-Hylton

Something about summer and baseball always makes me hungry.

It may have something to do with the peanuts and Cracker Jacks line, but I’m not sure—I think it has more to do with the vivid memories of the picnics my family would have right before going to the game.

Thirty years ago, picnics weren’t as sophisticated—they included an old, red-and-black-checkered blanket worn in certain spots by all the bottoms that hunkered down for a second helping of deviled eggs or fried chicken. And large, wicker baskets were the stars of the afternoon, filled with mayonnaise-laden food not chilled particularly well. It’s a wonder any of us survived.

But we did. We ate that fried chicken and those deviled eggs, along with a big helping of potato salad that glowed yellow from the addition of American mustard. There was ice tea and cookies—all the good stuff.

Although quite full, I always entered the stadium and indulged in a hot dog or two. And some peanuts. And the Cracker Jacks. And I usually repeated the process several times before September.

Today, picnics paint a different picture. Chairs fold into something the size of a deck of cards so you don’t have to sit on a blanket, and portable grills with GPS can cook a rack of ribs in record time. Just tell it Memphis- or Kansas City-style, and away you go.

But put down the barbecue sauce for a second. You can still go out to the ballgame, or engage in any summer activity, and pack a picnic lunch that, while it may be a bit more upscale, doesn’t have to be high tech.

Here are some ideas.

For the rest of this story (including Patrick Evans-Hylton’s picnic recipes), you can order the July/August 2005 issue of Hampton Roads Magazine.