| 4 min read
Picnic at Josaphine's
One of my favorite Summer activities is picnicking in the park, so I was super excited when I learned about the new kiosk Josaphine's in the Josaphat park. Apart from snacks and ice-cream, she also provides ready-made picnic baskets that look just adorable. Don't worry about the hassle of preparing the food and bringing it all along. Josaphine's has got you covered.
Park life
Park life is a real thing in big cities like New York or London, and it’s getting bigger in Brussels too. In Summer, the parks are teeming with life. Families take their kids outside, couples enjoy a leisurely stroll in the park and friends hang out together in the sun.
Parc Josaphat boosts this park life by regularly hosting different activities. With park life comes park food, and that’s where Josaphine’s enters the stage. Situated in the south-east side of the park, this cute kiosk caters drinks and original snacks to passers-by. Apart from chips and ice-cream, they also have normal, Mexican and Vietnamese hotdogs as well as Pastrami Rueben bagels and tasty croque monsieurs.
Josaphine’s has also introduced the genius concept of ready-made picnic baskets. You won’t have to go through the hassle of preparing and carrying everything around. All you have to do is invite your friends and pick up a picnic basket at Josaphine’s. It’s super easy.
Our apéro picnic basket
Josaphine’s offers two kinds of baskets. The brunch formula is available every Saturday and Sunday, as well as any given day during the holiday periods. The apéro formula can be ordered every afternoon provided the weather is nice. We opted for the latter.
When I arrived five minutes early, my basket wasn’t ready yet because the bread was still in the oven. I enjoyed the opportunity to walk around and scout for the perfect picnic spot. There is a large grass field behind the kiosk, so the choice was easily made.
I returned to pick up the basket and waited for my friends to arrive and unpack the contents together. It contained all the attributes required for a stylish picnic : a typical red-and-white checkered picnic blanket, plates, cutlery, glasses and a corkscrew.
Unpacking the contents of the picnic basket felt like unwrapping a present. This mystery basket ended up packing a baguette, a sausage, Vieux Bruxelles cheese, olive tapenade, a fine herbs cheese, breadsticks, a jar with chopped carrots and cucumbers, a Caprese salad, oriental-style meatballs, fresh grapes and rosemary chips. Every basket also contained drinks, where we had opted for a bottle of cava.
Most of the products are bio and locally made. I also really appreciated the waste-free approach of the picnic, as real glasses were provided instead of plastic cups and reusable jars were used to hold the different salads and spreads.
Although the baskets are meant for four to six people, I’d recommend sharing the basket with four people at most, for the mere practical reason that there are only four sets of plates, cutlery and glasses. If you buy a picnic basket, you also have access to a variety of outdoor games like Molkky, Kubb, Crocket, rackets… These games are also available to other visitors of the park for a small fee.
Practical information
- A brunch or apéro basket costs respectively 40 and 45 EUR, and can be shared with four to six people.
- Although you can ask for a picnic basket on the spot, it is recommended to book beforehand using the email address info@josaphines.be
- More information on Josaphine’s Facebook page.
- Check out their Facebook page for an updated overview of the opening times. The general rule is that they’re open when the weather is nice.
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