All the World’s a Picnic

America’s romantic image of Fourth of July picnics is a gingham tablecloth spread on a shady lawn laden with platters of Mom’s fried chicken, Aunt Bessie’s best potato salad and a homemade cherry pie. But in the real-life ‘90s, Mom and Aunt Bessie probably plan their picnic, mentally, on their freeway commute after work. And when they finally get to the market they’re apt to be looking for something quick and easy to set out on the tablecloth.

They’ll also be tempted to bring along more than the traditional potato salad and coleslaw. Los Angeles’ markets and specialty shops are cooking up a global cornucopia of foods, from a whole roasted lamb or ready-to-barbecue Korean beef to Russian eggplant salad and Mexican ceviche. Many market and deli owners have found a niche cooking home-style foods for their busy clientele. Patronizing such places is almost like having your own cook.

C & K Importing, one of L.A.’s oldest Greek markets, sells ready-to-cook souvlakia on skewers. Cubed lean lamb and boneless chicken are marinated in lemon, garlic, oregano and onion and there are thick Greek-style pita and tzatziki, a cucumber-yogurt sauce, to accompany the kebabs. Other accompaniments: the shop’s own ready-to-bake pastitsio, a savory lasagna-like casserole made with Greek macaroni and cheese; large spinach- or cheese-filled filo pastries; and a good selection of Greek cheeses, olives and wines. If you want to have something really splashy, order a whole roasted lamb or pig.

C & K Importing, 2771 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 737-2970. Open the Fourth of July.

Another sort of kebab is available from Mr. Deli, a Middle Eastern food shop in North Glendale. The owners marinate lean beef cubes with a touch of good olive oil and biber bekmez , a delicious mild red pepper paste. Lemon juice, garlic and a hint of red pepper are the marinade for chicken-kebab meat. Both are sold by the pound but you can buy them threaded on skewers, with or without vegetables, if you order ahead. The deli also sells prepared specialties, including stuffed grape leaves and cheese-filled borek pastries.

Mr. Deli, 3440 Foothill Blvd., Glendale/La Crescenta, (818) 957-7018. Open the Fourth of July.

At the ultramodern Plaza Market in Koreatown Plaza, the deli section offers ready-marinated bulgogi --thinly sliced beef, eye of round, in a traditional soy, garlic, sesame marinade. Twaeji gogi is the pork version; its garlicky marinade contains a hint of the peppery Korean bean paste, kochujang. The market also marinates 10 pounds or more of kalbi (beef ribs) to order for Korean barbecue.

You’ll also find bowl after bowl of wonderful side dishes. But while the baby octopus in a mouth-searing chile sauce may not tempt every guest at a picnic, some dishes have a wide appeal. Beautiful lacy lotus root slices in a soy-sauce dressing, for instance, or seaweed salad, or steamed bean sprouts splashed with mellow seasoned sesame oil.

Plaza Market, Koreatown Plaza, 928 S. Western Ave., (213) 385-1100. Open the Fourth of July.

If you’re doing a south-of-the-border-style meal be sure to investigate the prepared foods at the Valley Food Warehouse. In the enormous meat department you find thinly sliced chuck steak and loin-end pork chops marinated in adobada sauce, a mixture of paprika, vinegar, oregano and other spices that include a dash of chile. To go with the barbecue, the market’s deli department makes a ceviche of red snapper marinated in lime juice, Mexican-style seafood cocktails, nopalito salad with tomatoes and cotija cheese and good home-style Mexican beans.

Valley Food Warehouse, 14530 Nordhoff St., Panorama City, (818) 891-9939. Open the Fourth of July.

Vietnamese food is perfect for summer--it’s rarely heavy and is full of bright, pronounced flavors. This is certainly true at Buu Dien, a Vietnamese deli in Chinatown.

French-inspired cold cuts became part of Vietnamese cuisine during colonial days; Buu Dien makes its own (even its own mayonnaise). You can sample everything in the sandwich banh mi Buu Dien: a French roll ( banh mi means bread) is split open lengthwise and lean ham, Vietnamese-style pate and sausages are layered and topped with crisp, slightly sweet strips of marinated vegetables. The deli also makes a shredded barbecue chicken banh mi.

For takeout, Buu Dien packs the vegetables separately so the rolls remain crisp. Sandwiches kept overnight in the refrigerator may be crisped a few minutes in a hot oven before adding the vegetables.

Deli meats are also sold sliced by the pound so you can concoct your own sandwiches. You might try cha lua, a smooth cold cut with the texture of bologna; cha chien, a flavorful disk-shaped sausage with a crisp, deep-fried exterior; pate gan, Vietnamese-style liver pate; thit nguoi, boiled ham; and gio thu, a tasty Vietnamese version of head cheese.

Buu Dien’s other snacks are displayed on a counter in front of you. Banh cuon are the sheer sheets of rice flour noodle wrapped like a burrito around pork and Chinese mushrooms, served with a sweet-tart dipping sauce (this must be eaten the day you buy it). Du duu is the shredded green papaya salad topped with julienne strips of jerky-like dried beef.

Buu Dien Vietnamese Deli, 642 Broadway, No. 5 (between Broadway and Spring streets), Chinatown, (213) 617-8355. Open the Fourth of July.

One of the best places in Chinatown for Chinese-style roasted meats, poultry and whole suckling pigs is Yuan Ten Seafood Restaurant. In spite of its fishy name, the restaurant has one room devoted to hanging lacquered ducks, chickens and huge pots of soups and sauces that bubble behind the counter.

Whole 15-pound roasted suckling pigs ($110) or 35-pound pigs ($150) should be ordered three or more days in advance. But you can get pieces of the pork or beautifully roasted whole chickens on the spot. Excellent for picnics are the velvet-textured white-cooked chickens. When you order these, insist the seasoning liquid and ginger-chive condiment mixture be packaged on the side. The broth makes a delicious dip for the cold chicken. It may also be used to heat the chicken at home.

Yuan Ten Seafood Restaurant, 207 Ord St., Chinatown, (213) 617-8072 or 61 7 -8073. Open the Fourth of July.

An altogether different type of pork is the South American-style roasted pork leg found at La Sultana del Valle, L.A.’s only Colombian bakery and deli. The leg, marinated in beer, wine and a complex mixture of seasonings, turns out meltingly tender, and moist, nearly falling off the bone. Wrapped in foil, it warms beautifully over coals or in an oven. The juicy meat also makes an incredible sandwich in the bakery’s Cuban-style French bread. And it’s sensational with fried plantains, boiled potatoes and Colombian corn cakes, called arepas, all prepared in the shop.

With a deposit, La Sultana will roast you a whole leg. These weigh in at about 20 pounds and yield around 16 pounds of cooked meat. The cost is approximately $9.50 a pound and you can count on five to six servings for every two pounds.

For appetizers try the deli’s dainty Colombian-style empanadas with a cornmeal crust. And be sure to bring home La Sultana’s Colombian cheese and yuca flour rolls. The various styles, known as almojabana, pandebono or pandequeso, are all best served slightly warm.

La Sultana Del Valle Columbian Bakery and Deli, 14909 Vanowen St., Van Nuys, (818) 781-9056. Open the Fourth of July.

If you feel like doing something really decadent, head for Van Rex. This long-time purveyor of luxury foods to many of the city’s top chefs also has a retail outlet, which stocks three kinds of pre-sliced smoked salmon--Scottish, Norwegian and Atlantic. Its velvety smoked trout alone put the business on L.A.’s gourmet map. Van Rex also has its own excellent brand of smoked boneless duck breasts, smoked whole chickens and boneless chicken breasts. I make a salad with slivers of the duck and steamed new potatoes dressed lightly with a parsley-walnut oil vinaigrette.

There are so many things to recommend here it’s easy to get home with enough food for several parties if you shop without a menu in mind. Take note of the Rapelli brand saucissons-- garlicky, dry salami-like French sausages made in Northern California. There’s one with wine and another with a coating of herbs de Provence. Chicken galantine is a rather elegant chicken meat loaf studded with pistachios. Duck marinated in fresh orange juice and wine makes a smooth, rich pate, a contrast to the three-layered vegetable pate that contains no eggs, butter or cream.

The shop carries all sorts of accompaniments: good French cheeses, baguettes and crackers. There are even high-end restaurant-quality desserts.

Van Rex Gourmet Foods, 5850 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (213) 965-1320.

Both branches of the Tarzana Armenian Grocery sell dishes based on founder Rose Chelebian’s recipes, which made the original deli famous. After you’ve had Chelebian’s sarma-- tender grape leaves rolled around tomato-seasoned rice--you’ll be spoiled for any others.

The tabbouleh in its lemony dressing, with more parsley than bulgur wheat, is refreshing and perfect picnic food. There are creamy hummus and baba ghannouj, that smoky cousin of hummus made with roasted eggplant, rich with tahini . A lentil and rice pilaf comes topped with caramelized strips of slowly cooked onion and the wheat pilaf combines the soft, chewy grains with fresh vegetables in a light tomato sauce.

Borek, three-cornered pies with a yeasted dough crust, are filled with spinach and feta cheese or a Kalamata olive stuffing. The sandwiches are long, fanciful rolls of extra large pita spread with vegetables, hand-pulled string cheese and your choice from a selection of meats that includes Black Forest ham and smoked turkey. These can be eaten like burritos or cut into slices and served upended to reveal a swirled pattern.

Desserts are mostly homemade and include buttery melt-in-your-mouth ghourebia cookies made with ground almonds and an updated nazuk pastry in which shortbread dough is strewn with chocolate chips and walnuts, glazed with honey and then folded and sliced.

Tarzana Armenian Grocery, 18598 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, (818) 881-6278; 22776 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, (818) 703-7836.

Tatiana Continental Food, in the West Hollywood Russian shopping enclave, is a tiny store bursting at the seams with exotic picnic choices. Start at the display of takeout foods and select a few Russian salads. From the five kinds of eggplant salad, sample baklazhan, baked eggplant with a lemon-garlic mayonnaise or sate, a finely chopped mix of eggplant sauteed with tomato, carrot and peppers.

Beet salads include one with shredded cabbage and potatoes flecked with crunchy half-cured pickles and another studded with walnuts. Minced mushrooms come in a creamy garlic mayonnaise to spread on hearty Russian rye. For Tatiana’s piroshkis, tender yeasted dough is stuffed either with meat, potato or cabbage filling. Other foods that travel well are the chicken tabaka (a flattened game hen baked with garlic) and stuffed chicken breasts.

A deli case holds dozens of varieties of smoked and cured fish, cold cuts and cheeses. The shops French desserts come from Pierre’s Pastry in Pacific Palisades.

Tatiana Continental Food, 8205 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 656-7500. Open the Fourth of July.

The Nijiya Japanese stores carry 11 different kinds of bento, the traditional boxed meals that have been part of Japanese life, and Japanese picnics, for centuries.

Nijiya’s bentos , at $3.98 or $4.98, come packed in black plastic replicas of the traditional lacquer boxes, with different tidbits of food in each section of the box. The most elaborate of all holds salmon, shrimp tempura, tamago , steamed vegetables, a small sausage, a Japanese-style croquette and the customary pickles and rice. The Japanese enjoy such bento meals at room temperature.

Some of Nijiya’s selections, such as the strongly flavored braised mackerel ( saba nitsuke bento ) are geared to Japanese tastes, but the chicken yakitori bento, the hamburger bento or the chuka bento would likely suit Western palates. Chuka means “Chinese” and this particular box contains, among other things, two kinds of Japanese-style Chinese dumplings, and sliced barbecued pork.

For noodle lovers, Nijiya packs several styles of cold Japanese noodles to go, including the well-known zaru soba, complete with dipping sauce and garnishes.

Nijiya Market, 2533-B Pacific Coast Highway, (310) 534-0770; and 2130 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 575-3300. Open the Fourth of July.

India Sweets and Spices, an expanding chain of small Indian markets, specializes in Indian snack foods ( chaat ), which easily make a substantial meal . Consider bhel puri, a sort of salad of cooked potato and garbanzos topped with diced onion, rice puffs and other crunchy things, all dribbled with tamarind and mint chutneys. Dahi puri is a similar concoction with the addition of yogurt as a dressing. And pani puri, a miniature banquet of the same ingredients arranged separately, is accompanied with ping-pong ball-like semolina puffs that you fill and eat all in one bite.

These chaats should be eaten on the spot so they won’t get soggy, but the store will package the crunchy toppings and chutneys separately so you can assemble them when you are ready to eat. Other less-snacky foods include channa puri with garbanzo bean curry and kachori with dal.

For finger foods, ask about the samosas filled with peas and potatoes; the potato pancake-like alu tikki ; the dahi vada, a chickpea fritter topped with yogurt sauce; and the many kinds of pakoras, which are various vegetables dipped in chickpea flour, deep fried and eaten with chutneys.

India Sweets and Spices, 22009 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, (818) 887-0868; 9409 Venice Blvd., Culver City, (310) 837-5286; 18191 S. Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, (310) 809-3191; 1020 Huntington Drive, Duarte, (818) 357-6899; 9474 Black Mountain Road, San Diego, (619) 271-7976; also in Bakersfield, Fresno and Las Vegas. Open the Fourth of July.

If you wanted to picnic on a smorgasbord spread or a selection of smorrebrod, the Scandinavian-style open-faced sandwiches, Olson’s Delicatessen is a good place to get the fixings. Marinated herring is made from a family recipe; the homemade liver pate bears a strong resemblance to chopped liver; and a delightful herring salad mixes matjes herring fillet, chopped apples, pickled beets and macaroni. The same meat that owner Mrs. Ohlsson uses for Swedish meatballs is packed into small loaf pans ready for baking. The loaf is delicious sliced on dense rye or as a cold cut garnished with Olson’s lingonberry preserves.

Herrings at Olson’s come marinated in mustard sauce, wine sauce, dill sauce, tomato sauce and more. Investigate the shop’s fine selection of well-aged Scandinavian cheeses, such as the Vasterbotten and Svecia that you seldom see elsewhere.

In one of the cooler cases you’ll find at least half a dozen kinds of smoked fish pate and caviar-like fish roe spreads packed in tubes as if they were toothpaste. Squeeze the pates in swirly designs over potato salad, sliced tomato or hard-cooked egg slices. Decorate tiny rye bread slices or even knackebrod this way too. Remoulade sauce, horseradish mayonnaise and various kinds of mustards, also in tubes, are an easy garnish for cold poached fish or chicken.

Olson’s Delicatessen, 5660 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 938-0742.

At Belmonte, an Italian deli and grocery in Long Beach, a huge deli case displays platter after platter of wonderfully prepared picnic items--even such un-Italian things as Asian noodle salad and Caribbean coleslaw with sweet red and yellow peppers.

Belmonte packs up picnic boxes like many other gourmet shops, but creating a meal from the display case or the long buffet menu offers more flexibility. A long list of pastas suggests 20 toppings and a choice of pasta styles. If you don’t see exactly what you like, the kitchen is glad to take suggestions.

Just browsing the huge case inspires ideas: A few months ago I put together an impromptu supper for vegetarian friends that included white bean salad flecked with tomato, grilled eggplant rolled around goat cheese and wild rice salad with peas. Chicken breast stuffed with basil and smoked mozzarella and red pepper tartlets make an intimate dinner. Belmonte’s whole poached Norwegian salmon with fancy decorations could be the centerpiece of a Fourth of July meal for a crowd.

Belmonte, 5251 E. Second St., Long Beach, (310) 433-9977. Open the Fourth of July.