In our expert opinion, in the summertime, any outdoor activity — camping, backpacking, crowding around a public park grill — can be turned into an opportunity to eat really, really well. And when it comes to BYO food, there are two routes: aggressively and obsessively pack your cooler to the gills, or… just bring takeout. If the latter feels more your speed, Eater editors are here to help with their go-to takeout foods for all types of outdoor eating:
The best food to bring to: the beach
There is a snapshot in my mind of a perfect summer moment. My friends are gathered under my cabana at Riis beach, in various shades of undress, and we’ve likely all just flipped off an NYPD helicopter that keeps buzzing by to harass and gawk at the crowd. The one group that always sets up their sound system at 8 a.m. is blasting Britney in the distance. And in the center of our circle we’ve piled our snacks, which always mostly consists of cut fruit in plastic containers from the corner store. As beach snacks go it’s really the only way to go, replenishing lost sugars and hydration, feeling the cold juice wake up our mouths. We grab watermelon, grapes, strawberries, slices of pineapple, with sandy hands, not caring who brought what and who owes who. It feels in some sense like how we’re supposed to be, hot and naked and eating fruit. — Jaya Saxena, Eater.com correspondent
The best food to bring to: a MLB ballpark
It started with a few pies from Quarter Sheets at Dodger Stadium. Before that I had no idea you could bring food into most MLB stadiums, as long as you play by a few byzantine restrictions about clear bags and sealed bottles (check with your local stadium). While I continue to shell out for a Dodger Dog and some soft serve in a little helmet, I’m the type of cheapskate who’s thrilled about packing my own snacks. (I’m also the type of curmudgeon who hates how the pitch clock shortened games and I refuse to leave my seat to stand in an hours-long concession line.) This summer, I’m bringing some of my favorite snacks (salty-sweet party mix, furikake Chex Mix) and sandwiches (za’atar chicken cutlets, kimchi tuna salad). But I’m even more excited about the potential of takeout; I’m already plotting a trip for char siu bao from Flushing before a Mets game at Citi Field, figuring out how to get my preferred Philly cheesesteak (Chubby’s) across town to a Phillies game, and wondering what Italian sandwich to get from Salumi for a Mariners game when I visit Seattle. — Nick Mancall-Bitel, Eater.com senior editor
The best food to bring to: an outdoor concert
What can possibly make the magic of a warm, star-lit, outdoor summertime concert any better? Turning it into a meal. But there are serious logistics to contend with. Often, you’re combining the already-tricky mobile feast acrobatics of a picnic with the concert-specific obstacles of security restrictions, noise, low light, and (unless you splurged for box seats) a lack of any real surface on which to eat. Don’t let that stop you. Go for low-maintenance foods — this is not the time for multiple small vessels and elaborate setups. And you want to be able to eat with your eyes on the show, not squinting to aim a cracker into some tub of sour cream dip. Try a compact hoagie — say, a banh mi or mortadella situation — a room-temp, pre-cut flatbread, or even a thermos of popcorn chicken. Check restrictions on booze, but go for canned wine in lieu of big bottles. At the end of the day, your goal is to keep the rummaging to a minimum so as not to distract your fellow concertgoers. Or if the night calls for something more elaborate, just show up an hour early and go to town. — Lesley Suter, special projects director
The best food to bring to: an outdoor picnic
To me, summer means heading to the park and laying out a spread on a blanket. Park picnics can be spontaneous things — an opportunity to be seized upon whenever the weather seems right. And because of this, the best food is not some homemade potato salad (while potentially delicious, that would require advanced planning), but takeout. I once went to a park picnic with a loose fried chicken and bubbles theme, with Popeyes’ fried chicken and biscuits and Champagne. I can recall a peak-pandemic-era park dinner of takeout pasta and salad to share. But more often, I’m picking up tamales on Greenmarket days outside of Fort Greene park or banh mi and boba on my way to Prospect Park. Keeping the need for utensils at a minimum is preferable, so sandwiches are ideal, especially if they come from Court Street Grocers. Whereas a beach sandwich risks a dusting of sand and may need to survive hours in a cooler, park sandwiches have all the benefits of alfresco dining without ever growing soggy or sandy. After, when you’ve finished eating and the ground has grown uncomfortable, it’s essential that you route the walk home to include the nearest ice cream truck. — Monica Burton, Eater.com deputy editor
