Cheap Tuesday Gourmet – Traveller’s Picnic
We just got back from New York City – 8 amazing days where we walked, ate and sampled beverages.
Our typical day consisted of 12-18 hours of walking with two meals and a lot of great conversation thrown in. We spent just over half our trip in Brooklyn, shopped at about 8 stores in total and visited 2 galleries. It is odd to admit that we spent more time in public parks (Central and Prospect) than we did in all galleries and shops combined.
Our best lunch was admittedly over the budget of Cheap Tuesday Gourmet ($5 per person though most days are well under $2). However the concept of what we did for one of my favorite lunch memories endures (we were not setting out to create a post or do this for Cheap Tuesday Gourmet – although it was easily our most affordable meal with the best view). It can easily be scaled up or down and was the best view, lunch and memory I have of all of our lunches and was at a fraction of the price (and certainly cheaper than typical fast food would have cost for the two of us):
Our picnic consisted of a locally made ciabatta (it was stunning and I don’t normally get excited about such things; hard and crusty on the outside and soft and forgiving in the middle), a cheese with a unique story and ham that came from a 4-generation farm that cures their own meats.
The store we bought these from a minimum 1/4 pound serving size when ordering from the counter. Buying it prepackaged or finding a store without a minimum order (this was the first time I have ever run in to such a policy)or substituting one of the products with something more healthy than simply meat and cheese (an apple would have been a lovely pairing with the cheese and a pear with the meat) would be other ways to influence the budget on this meal.
Beyond cost, consider the phenomenal view of Manhattan that we had:
This will definitely change our plans for the summer – many more picnics are in the plans for the year. The trip was a great reminder that our best memories often come from the conversation and moments shared with the one we’re with and not by the cost of entry.