Years ago a friend of mine and I went to Central Park for a picnic. We brought a vintage picnic basket that had all of the careful fittings I've collected to make an afternoon eating outdoors feel comfortable and elegant. I've always loved picnics, ever since I was a little girl, and I learned from my mother that on a warm summer day or evening, sometimes a picnic can make an ordinary day feel special. When I was visiting with a beautiful Artist friend the other day, we went to a restaurant in his neighborhood, and because we wanted to sit outside he asked if we could sit at one of their picnic tables in their covered outdoor seating area. The restaurant was a lovely one and the early evening turned to dusk and twilight and night while we sat and enjoyed the delicious and inventive food and cocktails and wine. I think I would have enjoyed myself wherever we sat because the restaurant really is an excellent one, but somehow the picnic table was the perfect place to turn a wonderful afternoon into an extra special one.
Lilly's Craft and Kitchen has the kind of menu that makes me happy when I see it. There are so many things to choose from that all sound like what I could eat any day and feel like I was having a treat that was exactly what I wanted. They also have craft cocktails and a long and carefully curated list of of craft beers along with excellent wine selections. My friend and I decided to share a few small plates, a salad and an entree, and though I wanted to order so many things on the menu, I listened to his wise suggestion of what would be plenty and it was more than enough. Everything was so good! And the service was excellent. We sat for a while savoring our meal and talking, and we never felt rushed or as if we had to wait to see a server. During these times we're living in I've been feeling that it must be so difficult for wait staff to be inside and outside and running here and there and all over the place, and my hat is off to our servers because our whole experience was so enjoyable. The food looked lovely when it arrived, too, with all the colors of vegetables and rainbows and added unexpected flavors like the poutine with short rib gravy.
I'll definitely be wanting to visit Lilly's again, and when I do I hope there's a picnic table waiting for me. Somehow in that space we were transported back in time to some kind of childhood where the food is even better than you remembered it and you're made to feel right at home.
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