Kersten Rettig: Celebrate Mom With a Picnic in a Park

There’s something about dining in the open air that’s sophisticated and simple at the same time. While Dallas restaurants offer plenty of al fresco dining, very few, if any, have patios that aren’t butting up against a parking lot.

With so many parks in the Park Cities (hence the name), and throughout Dallas, why not pack a picnic now and then? Like, say, this Mother’s Day.

One of my favorite days in 2020 was Mother’s Day when my husband and daughter organized a picnic in a nearby park on a perfect spring day. There, we had charcuterie, fruit, French bread, and a beautiful, crisp rosé. It was spectacular and a memory I’ll cherish forever. 

This Mother’s Day, that same daughter is graduating from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts in Youth Ministry so there will be much celebrating, but no picnic for us. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have one, and I’ve got the perfect setup for you.

EAT
À Table, the Park Cities-based gourmet food delivery service, has created a special Mother’s Day picnic box that you can order online. The Mother’s Day Picnic includes sandwiches made with smoked turkey, savory prosciutto, creamy brie, peppery arugula, caramelized onion, and fig jam, all nestled between two slices of fresh-baked Ciabatta bread, grapes, À Table’s homemade Old Bay Potato Chips and Lemon Ice Box Pie made with tangy lemon custard and topped with fresh, organic slices of Texas strawberries.

Each box is $46 and feeds four. Place your order at www.atable.kitchen. Orders must be placed by Monday, May 8 and will be delivered Friday, May 12.

DRINK
If you’d like some wine for your picnic, Perrault fine wine and spirits shop has curated a list of “Wines Your Mother Will Love” which are all organic wines chosen by in-house sommelier Christina Chilcoat.  Christina and Perrault co-founder Jaclyn Vallejo, will be on hand Saturday, May 13 to offer tastings of the wines she chose to pair with À Table’s picnic box vittles.

Here are Christina’s picks:
NV Laherte Frères Rose de Meunier Brut Nature, Champagne, France
This organic Extra-Brut Champagne Rosé has the perfect blend of fruit, complexity, structure, and freshness. The wine is simultaneously racy and rich, focused, and full, with a long, dry finish.

2021 Domaine de Reuilly Pinot Gris, Loire Valley, France
While firmly rooted in Reuilly’s Kimmeridgian limestone soils—the same as Chablis—it has the silky viscosity, stone fruit, and floral notes reminiscent of Alsatian Pinot Gris to go along with the refreshing acidity and minerality.

2020 Hirsch Pinot Noir The Bohan Dillon, Sonoma Coast, California
This Pinot is lifted, with medicinal herbs, wild strawberry, and stony earth, and the palate is medium-bodied, with a fresh acid structure. Crunchy cranberry fruit, dusty earth, and hibiscus coax through this weightless style.

2021 Tenuta La Novella Sangiovese Sambrena, Tuscany, Italy
This sangiovese is harvested earlier in the year than usual which brings freshness and red fruit aromas. The acidity in the mouth is quite impressive, light, and fresh. It has a very smooth structure with a long finish. 

Perrault is located at 5331 E. Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Station. 

Do you need a nice quilt or blanket for your picnic?  Mary Cates & Co. and Noel Pittman, both in Inwood Village, have great selections from which to choose. The Noel Pittman pop-up is located across the parking lot from Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, so I suggest you stop in and get a cone of the most delicious (probably) ice cream in the world.

BUT IF YOU STAY HOME
If you can’t have a picnic, then bring nature to you. Haute Sweets Patisserie is collaborating with Plantstyle to present an adorable Succulent Cake and Plant combo.

Each combo comes with a 4″ chocolate flourless cake with hand-piped buttercream succulents and a real succulent plant created by Plantstyle. Each cake serves four-to-six people.

You must preorder your cake by 5 p.m. Sunday, May 7. You can order online here.
There are two Haute Sweets Patisserie locations to choose from for pickup.

Lake Highlands – 10230 E. Northwest Hwy. Pick up May 12 or 13. Your cake will be at Haute Sweets Patisserie and your succulent will be at Plantstyle, just steps away.

Hillcrest Village – 6959 Arapaho Rd. #106. Pick up both cake and succulent at this store May 12-14

However, whomever you celebrate, happy Mother’s Day to all moms and mother figures out there.