NYC: Bagel Picnic in Central Park

Last weekend, the weather was absolutely amazing in New York City, so we ended up going for a picnic in Central Park both Friday and Saturday. When you’re planning a picnic in Central Park, Sheep Meadow is usually where you’ll want to set up. From a distance, the big lawn can look like a giant piece of flypaper, but once you get closer, there’s always plenty of space for setting up camp.

Friday: On our way to Central Park, we stopped by PopUp Bagels, which has gotten really popular over the last couple of years. When Steve and I first tried them back in 2023, we waited almost an hour in line, but now they’ve opened more shops, and the lines have gotten a lot shorter.

We picked up some ramp butter and whitefish salad to go with our bagels, which were still warm from the oven. Unfortunately, they forgot our Everything Bagel, so we ended up with two Plain ones instead, which was a bit of a bummer. The Plains are good, but rather…plain..while the Everything ones are the best if you ask me. The bagels at PopUp Bagel are crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. They’re smaller than your typical New York bagel, which I like, because the regular ones are often so big they’re impossible to finish. We grabbed our coffee from a little French café, Bilboquet, just on the way to the park. Such a cute, cozy spot in the middle of the city, would love to come by for a sit down coffee on a rainy day.

Saturday: Saturday was super hot for April, with clear skies and temperatures around 80°F. It felt more like summer than spring, and Sheep Meadow was packed. We had originally planned to share a sandwich from All’Antico Vinaio, but the line was crazy, so instead, we went back to Bilboquet again and picked up baguettes, French pastries, and iced lattes for our picnic. April came and met up with us, and it was so good to see her again. It’s been almost a year since we last caught up, so we had plenty to talk about, and before we knew it, we had spent over three hours sitting in the grass, ending the day a little sunburned but very happy. The cherry blossoms are already long gone in New York City, but right now the magnolia trees are in full bloom. All around the park, people were lounging on blankets under the trees with their picnic baskets, and plenty of selfies were being snapped with the beautiful pink flowers in the background. It was one of those perfect New York afternoons that you just don’t want to end.