Your Table Awaits

Story by Seasons Editors | Photo by Jack McConnell

Food consumed outside tastes better, and a meal is inevitably more relaxed. Whether you set out plates on your patio or in the shady recesses of one of Connecticut’s state parks, table manners go on a bit of a holiday — who, after all, can be accused of slouching on a picnic table? Napkins, which should be on laps, have been known to blow away in the breeze. Licking fingers is almost a requirement.

Time drifts on the wind. A full stomach encourages an extended nap on a grassy knoll. Life tastes delicious. So grab your hampers, blankets, bug repellant, your friends and family. Don’t come home until the sun has set or the moon has risen high.

To help with your excursion plans, here are some of our favorite spots for local picnicking – the majority of which feature accommodations for outdoor dining – from picnic tables and bathrooms to sites with grills, shelters, and special attractions like boating, fishing, ball fields, and hiking. Getting to most of these places won’t burn up much gasoline, and in a summer of record-high fuel prices, that might help promote relaxation of another sort. Also included in the story is a list of shops offering ready-made picnic-style fare along with a recipe for cooks who prefer to make their own.

Remember to cart home your trash and to leave the picnic sites as you found them – green and welcoming to all.

PICNIC SPOTS

Stratton Brook State Park, 149 Farms Village Road, Simsbury
Alongside the picnic hamper, you’ll want to pack the swimsuits, fishing poles and hiking boots when you spend a day in this beautiful wooded oasis.

Facilities: Picnic tables, picnic shelters for rent (visit www.reserveamerica.com), bathrooms, changing houses, swimming, fishing, hiking. Wheelchair accessible.
Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset
Fees: Weekend/holiday fees apply
Regulations: Pets must be on leashes
Contact: 860-242-1158

Fisher Meadows, 800 Old Farms Road, Avon
This 250-acre site bordering the Farmington River provides space aplenty for open-air family activities. Enjoy miles of hiking trails, fishing, and boating if you pack your own canoe, kayak or rowboat. (No motors.) Swimming is prohibited.

Facilities: Picnic tables, limited children’s playground, eight ball fields, free parking, portable toilets
Hours: Dawn to dusk
Fees: None for picnickers; required only for larger parties or pavilion rentals
Regulations: No alcoholic beverages without special permit. No dogs allowed in field areas. All dogs on property must be on a leash no more than 6-feet long with handler holding the other end.
Contact: 860-409-4332
Website: www.town.avon.ct.us

Elizabeth Park, corner of Asylum and Albany avenues, on Hartford/West Hartford line
Industrialist and statesman Charles Pond left his property to the City of Hartford with the stipulation that it be used as a horticultural park and named for his late wife, Elizabeth. The city hired the legendary landscaping firm Olmsted & Sons to create the park, and the resulting design includes an internationally renowned rose garden, home to more than 15,000 rose bushes, a pond and bridge, expanses of open lawn, a greenhouse, and a picnic grove.

Facilities: Picnic tables, grills (on-site grills in the park’s Oak Grove area are available on a first-come, first-serve basis; no grills can be brought into park), playground, basketball court, tennis courts and baseball fields (tennis and baseball require reservations).
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
Fees: None for small picnic parties; groups of over 40 require a permit. Any structure such as a tent or shelter requires a permit. Outside catering not allowed. For onsite catering, contact the Pond House or bring your own picnic.
Regulations: No alcoholic beverages. Pets must be on leashes. No driving on lawns. No fishing or swimming in pond. Use trash receptacles and carry out what you carry in. No picking of flowers or herbs in park. To allow others to enjoy the serenity of the garden, be respectful of noise levels.
Contact: Hartford Parks & Services, 860-543-8767. For general information, phone Friends of Elizabeth Park, 860-231-9443. To reserve tennis courts or baseball fields, and for permits for large gatherings or weddings, phone 860-522-4888 x5912.
Website: www.elizabethpark.org

Housatonic Meadows State Park, Route 7, Sharon
A river runs through it, and campers and fly-fishermen are common sights under the tall pines flanking the Housatonic in this lovely riverbank spot.

Facilities: Parking, picnic tables in the Hollister Grove picnic area, bathrooms
Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset
Fees: No fee for picnicking
Regulations: No alcoholic beverages. Pets must be on leashes.
Contact: CT State Parks at 860-424-3200
Website: www.ct.gov/dep

Topsmead State Forest, Buell Road, Litchfield
The former summer estate of Miss Edith Morton Chase offers views of her English Tudor-style home and acres of trails and unpaved lanes for hiking and strolling. From June through October, free guided tours of the house are offered on the second and fourth weekend of each month. Picnickers may picnic informally on the grounds, which include the residential lawns.

Facilities: Parking, pit toilets.
Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset, June through October
Fees: None
Regulations: No alcoholic beverages, grills, or open fires. Pets must be on leashes
Contact: CT State Parks at 860-424-3200
Website: www.ct.gov/dep

White Memorial Foundation, 71 Whitehall Road, Litchfield
The 4,000-acre White Memorial Foundation is situated in the heart of the Litchfield Hills and comprises a conservation center, environmental education center, and nature museum as well as acres of woodland hiking trails, campgrounds, and picnic sites. The foundation is named for Alain White and his sister, May, who created it in 1913.

Facilities: Parking, picnic tables, outhouses
Hours: Dawn to dusk
Fees: None for picnickers
Regulations: Pets must be on leashes, no campfires
Contact: 860-567-0857
Website: www.whitememorialcc.org

West Hartford Reservoir, entrance on Farmington Avenue, 1½ miles from West Hartford Center (for directions and a map, visit www.themdc.com)
Minutes from bustling West Hartford Center, “the rez,” as it is referred to by locals features stunning woodlands and waterside views. Hikers, walkers, joggers, and cyclists enjoy more than 30 miles of paved and gravel trails.

Facilities: Open lawn areas and a few picnic tables along the paved pathways, wheelchair-accessible picnic areas, portable toilets
Hours: Dawn to dusk
Fees: None
Regulations: Pets must be on a leash.
Contact: (860) 278-7850
Website: www.themdc.com/talcottmountain.htm

Kent Falls State Park, Route 7, Kent
Before you fill up on fried chicken, hike the recently refurbished ¼-mile trail to Kent Falls, a 250-foot drop of water as scenic as it is refreshing.

Facilities: Parking, picnic tables, pedestal grills, bathrooms
Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset
Fees: None for picnicking
Regulations: Pets must be on leashes
Contact: CT State Parks 860-424-3200
Website: http://www.ct.gov/dep

Lake Waramaug State Park, 30 Lake Waramaug Road, New Preston
Bring along the family canoe or kayak (or rent either on-site), fish, swim, or just sit and enjoy the water views from a picnic table.

Facilities: Parking, picnic tables, food concession,
bathrooms
Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset
Fees: Weekend and holiday fees apply
Regulations: Pets must be on leashes
Contact: CT State Parks at 860-424-3200
Website: http://www.ct.gov/dep

Macedonia Brook State Park, 159 Macedonia Brook Road, Kent
If you favor a more rustic site and perhaps a vigorous hike before tucking into your picnic hamper, hike the Blue Trail over Cobble Mountain and enjoy your feast amid views of the Catskill and Taconic mountains.

Facilities: Picnic tables, picnic shelters for rent at www.reserveamerica.com or call 877-668-2267, bathrooms
Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset
Fees: No fee for picnicking
Regulations: No alcoholic beverages; pets required to
be on leashes
Website: www.ct.gov/dep

Recipe: Noujaim’s Mediterranean Eggplant Medley

This recipe from Georges Noujaim, owner of Noujaim’s Speciality Foods in Torrington, is easy, delicious and it makes the best of seasonal ingredients. “What’s so good about it is you can have everything from your garden here, all the ingredients could be locally grown or procured,” he says.

The eggplant medley can also be served warm, cold, or at room temperature. Serve it with slices of toasted baguette or pita toast, or folded into a soft wrap.

1½ medium-size eggplants, peeled and diced
1½ cups diced tomatoes
1 red pepper, halved, seeded and cut into strips to make about 1 cup
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch Noujaim’s Seven Spices mix (optional)
1/4 cup chopped basil, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.In a big bowl, mix all ingredients except basil. Place on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet and roast in oven for 25 minutes, stirring twice during cooking. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Mixture may be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated. Garnish with fresh basil before serving.

Makes roughly 3 cups of the medley.