When I was a little girl, I remember how much I loved going on picnics. The excitement in the air was palpable. The preparations for an entire day and the two meals we always packed are a big part of the memory. There were stacks of sandwiches for lunch with a cooler of lemonade. For dinner, there were always at least two salads and the BBQ'd offerings from my father. He never deviated from steak for himself. Somehow, I can't remember the meat offerings that we kids ate...... hmm....probably burgers and hotdogs.

On Sunday September 14th, Evergreen at Toronto's Brick Works hosted the Slow Food 'Picnic at the Brick Works' for the second successful year. After bumping into one of my colleagues, Michael Vaughan, I discovered my trajectory for the day. Burgers! My first stop was over to David Lee's Nota Bene smoker and the Kobe Beef open faced burg. Classic picnic fare with a decadent gourmet twist. I suspected that there would be no condiments and when I asked what to put on my burger, Chef Lee calmly and confidently answered, "It needs nothing."

I savoured that burger while looking for the perfect wine. Beer wouldn't do for such succulent meat, so it was off to the stalls. Norman Hardie suggested his County Pinot Noir, perfect for an afternoon nosh. Right beside The Kobe burger were the mini organic lamb burgers from Allen's Restaurant and served up by stalwart staffer Carmel, who added arugula, red onions and Dijon mustard to my perfect two bite burger. Allen's chef sources the lamb courtesy of Scotch Mountain Meats. As I started out with my mains first, I decided to backtrack to starters, and found a Cobb salad nestled over corn bread chunks, topped with BBQ'd pork belly confit from Chef Mathew Sutherland, atFat Cat. I found a lovely crisp Riesling to pair it with, although a glass of Mill Street organic lager would have fit the bill on such a muggy day.

Still eating 'backwards' and not wanting to feel full, I stumbled upon Patrick McMurray's oyster stall. Almost out of organic Malpecques, Patrick squired away a couple until I could find a nice crisp white. Now there's a palate cleanser. I asked Patrick for his business card; "How's this? Patrick said, as he jauntily handed me an oyster shell. The man has wit.

Other highlights for the day? Angelo Bean's rabbit sausage, along with all the other wonderful products he makes under his Ontalia brand. Interesting beer of the event was the Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale; baking spiced flavour made me think this a perfect partner for carrot soup (Quince) and savoury breads (Via Oliveto), which was one of the first things I had, but at the opposite end of the venue.
Although I come from dessert eating stock, I 've lost the ache for sweet things. Spying the Soma Chocolate table, I thought a little square of dark chocolate would be the ticket out, just to cover all the food bases. The wild cherries I had were dipped and dusted with chocolate and have re-ignited my imagination for simple dessert pleasures. In fact, I can just see myself on a red checked tablecloth on a grassy knoll somewhere, scarfing down these sensual pleasures.

Yes, my picnic day was a mixed bag; sort of like a potluck gourmet-midway flavour feast. My only complaint is that I would loved to have seen one long table with small breaks, right down the middle of the venue, so that picnic-ers could load up a plate and savour slow food slowly, as it was meant to be. Nathan Isberg (Coca) certainly had the right idea, with a table set for six, so that you could actually sit down and dine without having to find a table on the outskirts of the Brick Works. And excitement? There was more in the air this year and it can only get better with this annual event.

Patricia Noonan